Leap of Fate
by simplyleah
Summary: **BACK IN BUSINESS!** After Edward left Bella found out she was pregnant. She died in childbirth. May, Leo, Cassie, and Em hav been going from foster family to foster family, and are now in Alaska. who will they meet?
1. Summary

**Hello fantastic fanfiction fanatics! If you clicked on this story, you probably want to read it, so im going to let you do that. But if you want, I've got a summary for you just below this. if not, just click the button to go to the next chapter:)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING FROM this SUMMARY THAT YOU KNOW. I **_**DO **_**OWN EVERYTHING YOU DON'T KNOW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!**

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After Edward left Bella in New Moon, Bella found out she was pregnant. But she was only seventeen (I know she was eighteen, but I pushed it back a year), and decided the best option would be adoption. While on the verge of being eight and a half months pregnant, Bella called up a social worker to discuss the adoption of her kids. While on the phone, Bella went into early labor and shrieked before dropping the phone. She died that day, on the living room floor. The social worker Bella had called came over soon, because she was worried about what had happened, and found a dead Bella and four very ill new borns.

This is about those four kids. This is their story.

This is about Maybelle, Leonard, Emerson, and Cassandra. This is about whether or not they will take that Leap of Fate, the one that will take them where they're supposed to be.

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**HOW DOES IT SOUND???? I'm not very good with summaries, but this is all I've got:)**

**Now start reading the story! Just click that little arrow button. And enjoy it!**

**Leah:)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm just having some fun with this, seeing where it goes . . . tell me what you think?**

**DISCLAIMER: Uh . . . i pretty much own everything in this chapter. honestly, i cant find anything in here that i don't own. i dont even say bella's name. but, clearly, i dont own twilight . . . **

**Anyway . . . enjoy!**

My dress is stuck on my boobs. _Again. _I mean, who the hell did I get these huge—_things _from? Pardon my, er, _straightforward-ness, _but my boobs are humongous! And it's not like I can blame them on anyone. I know, you're probably thinking _she must have got them from someone! _But thaft's the thing. The someone I got them from is probably my mother. And my mother's dead.

See, my mom died while giving birth to me, my two brothers, and my sister. That was fifteen years ago. She was only seventeen. I know, typical sap story. And not only did my mom die, but my father is nonexistent. Now it's not only a sap story, but my own personal Soap. Cassie (**A/N: pronounced like the beginning of Cassandra, which is her full name) **, previously mentioned sister, used to call him The Sperm Donor. And as far as I'm concerned, that's all he _is. _Leo and Emerson, my two brothers, absolutely despise him. I'm not quite sure why, as they despise talking about him just as much as him himself.f

And if you're observant, you would have noticed something odd about the sentence involving The Sperm Donor. If not, check again. You found it? If not, it was the 'used to' part. Get it now? And, no, before you jump to this conclusion, Cassie isn't dead. Even if she wishes she was. I know, I know, get on with it already. Cassie . . . she, well, tried to kill herself when we were twelve and had been living with our sixteenth foster family (not lying, we've been in about eighteen by now—I'll explain in a little bit). None of us know the reasons why Cass did it, exactly. Maybe it was just because of The Sperm Donor. Or maybe because of us being the reasons mom died.

Or maybe—this is the most probable reason—it was because of what we are. Now, before I go any further: We're not completely human. Actually, we don't really know _what _we are. We've got a pretty good idea, but we're not sure. See, we all have beating hearts. Hearts that beat super fast. Healthy human hearts beat about seventy-two to eighty beats per minute, while our hearts beat about one hundred and twenty times per minute. And that's while relaxed. While doing physical activity, the human heart can beat up to one hundred beats a minute, and ours can beat up to one hundred sixty times per minute while physically exerted. Which is _bad. _Or, at least that's what all of the doctor's tell us. And aside from the fast-beating hearts, we need blood to survive, and can run up to one hundred miles per hour (the fastest human can run about 30 miles per hour).

Oh, and if you were hoping I'd elaborate on the first thing (the blood thing), here's a summary of everything: When the social workers who mom had talked to about us getting adopted came to our house a few hours after we born (thankfully, or we would have died), they found us on the floor (it was carpet, thank god), with our dead mother lying next to us. They hurried to call 9-1-1. When we got to the hospital, they declared mom's time/date of death (September 3rd, 1994 at 1:38 PM) . . . and, coincidentally, our time/date of birth (September 3rd, 1994 at 1:38 PM). At first, they thought that we had cardiac problems because of our dangerously high blood pressure, rapidly beating hearts, and unearthly pale skin (through which you could clearly see all of our veins). They monitored us for at least a month, and our health was deteriorating at a very scary pace. They decided that we wouldn't live for even a year, and found a couple (the husband was a doctor, too, which probably was one of the reasons they picked them) willing to take all four of us in for the duration of our short lives. Dr. Morgan and his wife got time off from both of their jobs to stay home with us. One day, when we were about four months old, and very ill, we were home with Kelley (Mrs. Morgan) and she cut her finger while cutting some vegetables. I'm going to spare you the gory details, but all four of us filled up on the blood that had gotten on the counter . . . and lets just say that everything (other than our health) went downhill from there. Dr. Morgan and Kelley freaked out completely, and gave us back to the social workers. We were given to another family . . . and so the cycle began. Every few months, we would be forced into another home, because the family either couldn't handle four little kids, got pregnant with another kid of their own, were freaked out by our scary eating habits, or whatever. But the weird thing is, none of them ever mentioned the blood stuff, or else I'm pretty sure we would have never been kept in foster care.

Anyway, when we turned six, we realized that. . . well, our eating habits were _far _from normal, and that they were things that we needed to deal with on our own—which meant doing things that six year olds should never have to do: run into the woods with a kitchen knife. Yeah, yeah, I know it seems comical . . . not only does that not look good when you're in foster care, but it . . . let's just say it didn't work out, all right? All it did was make us find a new family, leave two dear without heads, and make me throw up.

So, to cut it short, when we were about eight, we taught ourselves to hunt with the proper tools—our teeth. At the time, we had been in Portland, so it wasn't very hard to sneak into the woods once a month for some animal blood, which we realized left us feeling a lot less guilty than drinking human blood did. And it also helped us stay with families a lot longer.

Back to what we are . . . well, we're thinking something like a vampire or something. I know, it sounds crazy, but when you factor in the evidence—its pretty probable.

I know, I know, get on with it. Now we're fifteen, living in Ketchikan, Alaska with the Bray's. Today's July 24th . . . and it's only 48 degrees (Fahrenheit), plus it's pouring rain. We were dumped here a month ago, after our last family, the Kogler's, had their third kid. The Bray's are pretty nice, plus they have no kids (thank god!). It's just Me, Leo (short for Leonardo), Em (Emerson), Cassie (Cassandra), and Mr. and Mrs. Bray. Mr. Bray is a Weather forecaster (you've probably heard of him—his name's Bob Barry Bray. Say that ten times in a row—I bet you can't do it!) and Mrs. Bray (her first name's Molly) is a dentist. Sometimes I wish we could live in someplace warm and sunny, but it's not an option. If you're wondering why, it's because Cassie's skin blisters really badly when she's out in the sun, so we have to live somewhere cloudy. Name any rainy place in the U.S, and we've lived there. Washington? Yep. Oregon? Yep. Louisiana? Yep. I could go on, if you'd like.

Anyway, since school doesn't start up until the 27th of August, and it got out on the 3rd of June (it's the 20th) and its pouring rain outside, we are hanging out inside the huge house the Bray's own. Apparently, they've been foster parents before, but only for younger kids. So they have enough room for each of us to have our own bedrooms, but Cass and I have to share a bathroom, and so do Leo and Em. Which brings us back to the dress issue. It's still stuck on my boobs.

And I'm standing in the middle of my room, trying not to rip my dress. It's really cute and long sleeved. Mrs. Bray got it for me, so I was trying it on to see how it fit. It fits perfectly . . . but there's a band underneath the bust. And said band is stuck. While I'm trying to get it off, I feel hands reaching up behind me and I shriek, turning around. Cassie is standing there, wearing a short black dress with torn tights. Her eye make-up is just as thick as always, while the rest of her face is completely natural—and freakishly pale. Her hair is dark brown and wavy, but she recently added darker highlights (**A/N: I am not trying to be offensive to Goths in any way—actually, one of my closest friends is Goth—but this is just how I picture Cassie)**. It's in a loose side braid right now though. While she does give off a mysterious, dark feeling, she looks adorable. But also doesn't say a word. She pulls the dress off over my head, watching me with her gray, stormy eyes.

"Thanks, Cass," I say. She just nods and sits down on the floor, her hands sitting limply in her lap, displaying the angry scars on the insides both of her wrists. Ever since we saved her life, she has been really quiet, only speaking to me, Leo, and Em, except for those rare times when talking is necessary. I pull on a white tank top and a sweatshirt, then slide on a pair of jeans. I hear a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I say, knowing it has to be Leo or Em. Or—yes, both.

"May_belle_," Em says in a sing-song voice, pulling me into a hug. I absolutely love my name. Some people say it's a stupid, farm-girl name, but I love it. Most people call me May, though.

Em has messy bronze hair that falls into his liquid hazel eyes that are almost gold. He's really big. I used to think of him as my personal Teddy Bear. Leo is sitting on the floor next to Cassie, his arm around her shoulder. He's whispering something in her ear. Leo's hair is a mixture of Em's bronze and Cassie's brown. His eyes are currently the same color as Cassie's, but it changes all the time. And when I say his eye color changes, I mean he can make his eye color change. He also can change his hair color. (**a/n: the colors I described for his hair and eyes right now are the natural colors)** And that's just one of his weird abilities. He can also control fire, as well as create and destroy it. As a matter of fact, all of us can control some sort of element. I can control water, Cassie can control Ice, and Em can control wind. But, just like Leo and his color-changing, we all have side things. For instance, Cassie can make herself disappear temporarily. Or, no, not _disappear, _but make herself invisible. She also can teleport herself places. Em, he can move things with his mind, and has this weirdo shield that he can project. Me . . . well, my power's pretty intense. I can steal any power, from anyone. Well, to put it more clearly, I can either take the power away completely, but that's only temporary, or I can duplicate it and store it for later. The first one comes in handy when one of my siblings make me mad—power-stealing is the world's greatest punishment.

"So," Leo says, juggling fire back and forth between his hands, "what's up?"

"Nothing's _up_," I reply, plopping down on the bed. "I just wish we could have an actual summer, you know? Like with sun. and the beach." At that moment, Cassie's image flickers, and then I hear a loud crack, and she's gone completely.

"Aw, May!" Em exclaims, rubbing his eyes roughly. "You know she get's all upset whenever you say that kind of stuff! She thinks it's her fault, because of the rash thing."

"First of all, Em, they're blisters," I say, standing up. "And secondly, you don't need to yell." And with a crack of my own, I follow the TeleTrail my sister left.

Which happens to land me in the middle of the Gulf of Alaska. Which has to be at least negative twenty-something degrees.

Ah, crap.

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**Sorry about the weird beginning . . . after i re-read it, i was like _what the hell was i thinking here? _Haha:) like i said before, i'm just having fun with this. and i still havent described what Maybelle looks like . . . if you're wondering, she has straight chocolate brown hair with bangs and the same almost-gold eyes as emmy:)**

**anyway, please tell me if you think i should keep going, and if you liked it or not. **

**oh, and for those of you who have read my other fics and are waiting for me to continue those . . . sorry, guys. the Host one is on hold, and i'm having major writers block with _before i continue. _**

**REVIEW NOW!!!! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN, AND WHAT YOU THOUGHT, AND IF YOU LIKED IT, AND IF YOU HATED IT, AND IF YOU WANT ME TO DELETE IT, AND IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO CASSIE, AND IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO MAY AND IF YOU WANT ME TO GO INTO LEO OR EM'S PERSPECTIVE WHILE THEY TRY TO FIND CASSIE AND MAY.**

**AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST--TELL ME IF UR MAD THAT I ENDED IT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

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**Follow the yellow brick road . . . follow follow follow follow follow the yellow brick road**

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**somewhere, over the rainbow . . . WAY UP HIGH . . . **

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**now you click the button. see?**

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	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys ! I'm not so sure about this chapter . . . its mainly filler, but I want you guys to get to know the characters before I do something big. My biggest pet peeve is when ficwriters just rush into it way too quickly—so im not going to do that with mine. Hope you like it . . .**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, any of it's themes, characters, or plot. I **_**do **_**own Cassie, May, Em, Leo, and my plot though. So HA!**

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**EPOV (Emerson. Not Edward, or Emmett.)**

The minute Maybelle opens her mouth, I _know _nothing good is going to come from it. And the moment the words 'I just wish' are said, I know it's going to be terrible. When Cassie disappears, I meet eyes with Leo. He looks like he's about to burst. See, ever since Cassie tried to . . . off herself, Leo has been really protective of her. To be honest, Leo and I are just protective of Cass and May in general. But Leo's been by Cassie's side ever since we found her on the floor of her bedroom three years ago, her life's blood slowly draining. Seeing that, seeing the blood everywhere—that really left a mark. And ever since then, she's been retreating further away from all of us. May is the only person she'll talk to willingly, but even that is really rare. And anyone can see how guilty May feels, like its her fault Cassie tried. Which, in turn, makes me protective of May.

But when Cassie disappears like that, I snap. Every time, I snap. And this time is not the exception.

"May!" I yell, pressing my fingers into my eyelids so hard that I see red. "You _know _she gets all upset whenever you say that kind of stuff! She thinks it's her fault, because of the rash!"

""First of all, Em, they're blisters," May says, turning around so I can't see how her eyes are filling with tears. I know how much it hurts her when I yell—but I can't help it. "And secondly, you don't need to yell." And then, with a crack of her own, May's gone before I can reach out and tell her I'm sorry.

**CPOV**

I landed on a boat. I wasn't thinking when I disappeared. I just . . . did it. I'm in the Gulf of Alaska, and on a boat. Which is bad, because if May follows my TeleTrail, she'll just end up somewhere in the water, which looks freezing cold. And it's _raining. _I can't believe I did it! I _promised _her I wouldn't do it again!

I squeeze my eyes shut, and try to follow her trail, to see where she landed. Nothing. _Fuck. _I suck a breath in, and picture Maybelle's room at the Bray's: small, with dark wood floors . . . a white leather couch . . . a white bed suspended in the air, with a red pillow its only color . . . _CRACK!_

The first thing I hear, even before I open my eyes, is "Cassie!" I can tell it's Leo. I launch myself into his arms and he hold's me tight.

"Where's May?" Em asks, his voice tense. Em and May are really close, even more so than Leo and I.

"I don't know," I whisper, and pull away from Leo's chest. He keeps a tight arm around my waist anyway. Em's jaw is clenched, and I can feel the room beginning to shake, almost like the start of an earthquake. Oh no.

**LPOV**** (as in Leo . . . I don't think anyone's name, other than my own—Leah, pronounced LAY-UH, like in star wars—starts with L. wait, no, the Leah in twilight has the same name as me . . . im babbling now.)**

I push Cassie behind me, walking towards Emerson. In all honesty, I don't blame him for freaking out. I mean, our sister has, for all we know, disappeared from the face of the earth.

"EMERSON!" I yell, and push his chest hard, making him fall backwards onto the floor. The shaking stops, and I sigh. "Do you really think freaking out will help anything, Em?" I ask, in a much calmer tone.

"No," he says stubbornly, and I feel as if I'm talking to a five year old. But I can tell he's really upset—his eyes are glassy, like he's going to cry, and his jaw is clenched tight.

"Em," I say, sitting down on the floor next to him, leaning back against the wall. "May's gonna be all right. She's got to be." I turn to Cassie, but already feel guilty about putting her on the spot. Then I notice she's wet, and her tights seem even more torn. "Cass, where did you go?"

She says something so quietly that I cannot even understand—all I see is her lips moving. She must have realized we couldn't understand her, as she speaks again, her voice clear. "I landed on a boat. In the Gulf of Alaska. It was pouring. If May followed me—"

"FUCK!!!!!" Em explodes, interrupting Cass. He pulls his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his hands. This time, it's him that's shaking, rather than the room. "What the fuck did I do?" he says, clearly talking to himself. And then Cass does something amazing. She stands up, and plops herself down next to Em, wrapping her arms around him. But Emerson's beyond noticing. He's shaking so hard, and I can tell he's holding in tears. No, not tears—_sobs. _

"Em," I say, really worried now. If Emerson's almost in tears . . . I really don't even want to think about what's going through his mind. "Em, it's not your fault. She went to get—"

"Me," Cassie whispers. "She went to get me."

And then someone appears in the middle of us, shaking from head to foot and dripping water.

"May?!" I exclaim, just as she falls to the floor. "MAY?" I yell, jumping up. Emerson jumps up at the same time, and we both fall to the floor next to Maybelle. Her skin is stark white, and her lips are a pale blue. She is breathing though, which is a good sign. I hope.

**I WAS GOING TO END HERE, BUT I'M IN A GOOD MOOD, so I'll give you a few hundred more words:)**

**EPOV (emerson)**

The minute I hear Leo say 'May,' I'm scrambling up and to the sopping heap on the floor. It's obviously Maybelle, but her lips are blue and she's shaking so much.

"Get her jeans off!" Leo yells at me, and I do just that. It would have been weird under any other circumstance, but all I can think about is my sister, my Maybelle. I mean, yeah, we fight a lot, and she does get annoyed because I'm so protective, but I love her like crazy. Her jeans are so heavy with all the water, and freezing cold. Her legs are really pale, with pink splotches scattered around. Leo's pulling off her big sweatshirt, and Cassie is nowhere to be seen. Now May's just wearing a tank top and her underwear, but I couldn't care less. She's still shaking so much, and her lips are still blue, her cheeks void of their normal rosy red tint. Leo and I both get her tank top off, so now its just her bra and underwear. Cassie appears then, a huge afghan slung over her shoulder.

"Go," she says, shoving Leo and I away. We turn and face the wall.

**FASTFORWARD ABOUT 3 MINUTES! STILL EMERSON'S POV**

I'm shifting my feet, my hands clenched tight, when I feel the light tap on my shoulder. I turn around and rush over to Maybelle, who is now on the bed, wrapped up tight in the afghan.

"She has sweats and a tank on, so you can go warm her up," Cass says, and I unravel part of the blanket, sliding in with May and holding her tight to my chest. I stay like that for at least fifteen minute's, watching as the color begins to return to her face.

"Emmy?"

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**HOW wAs IT? Was that okay? I'm a bit shaky now, because I have no clue where this is headed . . . what do you think? **

**What do you guys want to happen?**

**Should May get hospitalized, and should one of the Denali clan or Carlisle be her doctor? Should I fast-forward to school, and have the Denali clan/Cullens be at school with them?**

**You tell me—its your opinions that matter! **

*********Oh, and one more thing, I was thinking about having their social worker, Debbie, give them each letters that Bella left for their sixteenth birthdays. Yes, no, maybe so?**

**REVIEW NOW**

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**Review for May**

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**She might not live without you guys! Just kidding, I love Maybelle too much to kill her. But Cassie's getting on my nerves . . . maybe ill have her off herself????????**

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**Review if you want to save her!! If not, still review!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello my fantasic fanfic readers! This one's sort of filler, but someone we all know and love makes an appearance in this chapter . . . so we know its gonna get good! Hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own a certain someone in this chapter, or Twilight. But, I **_**do **_**own Emerson, Leonard, Cassandra, and our poor Maybelle. I also own my plot, and the clinic in Alaska. Haha:)**

**Enjoy!**

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_**Previously:**_

"_Emmy?"_

_**Now:**_

I turn around to see Cassie in the doorway, tears pooling in her eyes. And, while I crave to put my arms around her and tell her it's okay, everything will all right . . . I'm not quite sure I would be telling her the truth.

"Yeah, Cass?" I say.

"Is May gonna be okay?"she asks.

"I don't know, Cass, I really don't." I look down at my sister, my Maybelle. She's still shaking and her hands are freezing cold, but some color is returning to her cheeks, and her lips are white, not blue.

"Why don't we take her to the clinic?" a voice says, and Leo appears behind Cassie in the doorway. "I mean, we have all of our medical papers that talk about the weird heartbeat and whatever. So they won't ask any questions."

"I guess that makes sense," I say, getting out of the blanket and wrapping Maybelle up tight. I pick her up, into my arms, and hug her close, following Leo and Cass into the garage, where Mr. Bray's baby, his Aston Martin Vanquish, sits. "Nuh-uh." I say, shaking my head. "No way, Leo."

"Yeah, Leon . . ." Cass says, surprising both of us. "Don't even _think _about it." Then she points to Dr. Bray's minivan, which is parked next to the Vanquish.

"No, c'mon, Cass! That's not fair!"

"Both of you shut up, before I push you into the ongoing traffic," I say, heading toward the van. I lay May down in the back, and Leo sits next to her, so her head is in his lap. Cass gets into the passenger seat, wiping her eyes.

"hey," I say, sliding into the drivers seat. "No crying. If Maybelle were awake—"

"—she would start singing that song by the Pogues," she interrupts, smiling faintly, more tears tumbling down her cheeks, "and would keep on repeating that one part until I smiled."

"Yeah," I say, starting the car and backing out of the garage into the rain. "She would. So no crying, all right?"

"Yeah!" Leo shouts from the back. "Let's leave all the blubbering to Emerson here." Cass giggles and I pull onto the main road. Cass switches on the radio, and we all immerse in our own thoughts. I sigh, just listening to Jack Johnson. I can see Leo's hair turning red and his eyes turning purple in the rear view mirror.

"What are you _doing_?" Cass and I both say at the same time. Leo looks up at us, and his eyes turn yellow. Which looks _really _creepy.

"Nothing. It's just fun to do. It tingles." He shrugs

I roll my eyes. My thoughts drift to Maybelle, and I wonder if she's all right. She hasn't woken up, and she barely seems to be breathing. When I start thinking more about her, and how she may not be okay, I begin to wonder what Mr. Bray would say if he found out we were driving—we don't turn sixteen for over two months.

I pull into the clinic parking lot. Since Ketchikan is such a small town, we've just got a clinic. But there is a really big hospital about five minutes out of town. I hop out of the car, and Cassie does the same. Leo picks up May and carries her out of the car, going through the glass doors of the clinic.

"Oh, my!" the receptionist says rushing out from behind the desk and disappearing down the hall, only to return a few seconds later, with a tall, pale, blonde man, probably in his mid-twenties.

"Now, what have we got here?" he says stopping just before Leo. "you scared the receptionist half to death!"

"Well," I say, thinking about a way to explain my sister's current state. "Maybelle, she—uh—well—"

The doctor looks amused. Cass rolls her eyes at me, but she looks really nervous; she probably realized the same thing I did—we don't have an excuse.

**CPOV ****(CARLISE!!!! Yay!)**

My receptionist, Abigail, ran into my office, looking quite frantic. Her heart was beating rapidly, and her cheeks were flushed. "Yes?" I say, curious as to what had panicked her. We had been having a relatively uneventful morning, with only one person to come in for an ultrasound.

"There's—four—um—hypothermia—I think—not sure," she gasps out, and then turns to run back out into the waiting area of the small clinic I own. I follow her, walking at a brisk pace.

There, standing, are four kids, probably fifteen or sixteen years old. One has dark brown hair that waves down to her waist and is wearing a short black dress that is Alice-worthy and torn black tights that look wet. And she's barefoot. I can see one red line on both of her wrists. Her eyes are a dark, stormy gray with silvery specks. Another has messy bronze hair and liquid hazel eyes. His build is very large, similar to that of my son, Emmett. The next has dark brown hair with a bronze tint and—_yellow eyes_? I shake it off, because they are most likely contacts. In his arms is a pale girl with blue lips and thick, curly brown hair. She's swathed in a large afghan, and the yellow eyed boy is holding her in a protective way. I think Abigail was right—Hypothermia.

"Now, what have we got here?" I say, looking at the boy holding the most-likely Hypothermic girl. But, now that I think about it, all four of the children are extremely pale, almost in such a way its unhealthy. "You scared the receptionist half to death!"

"Well," the big, bronze haired boy says. "Maybelle, she—uh—well—" I raise my eyebrows. The girl with the dark, wavy hair rolls her eyes, but looks very nervous.

"You know what, kids?" I say after an uncomfortable silence, remembering that this girl may be in need of serious medical help and we are just standing around. "why don't I take her"—I gesture my chin in the ill girl's direction. "and try and figure out whats wrong."

The boy with—wait! His eyes are gray now. Okay, the boy with the previously yellow eyes nods enthusiastically, but the two others look nervous. The other boy looks like he wants to grab the girl and run. The girl with the dark hair puts her hand on the burly boy's arm.

"_Em_" she says, in a warning tone. She turns back to me. "Yes, thank you. Leonard?" she says, and the boy with the now-gray eyes gently passes the girl over to me. I turn around, walking in the direction of the medical rooms, but the burly boy reaches out to stop me.

"Here," he says, handing me a stack of papers—_woah. _Its got to be more than an inch thick. "We've got quite a . . . medical history. Before you do something—I dunno. Drastic? Look through it, or else you may do something you'll regret." From his tone, it seems as if he's the one who will make me regret it. I nod, taking the papers, and walking away, a very sick girl in my arms.

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**So? How was it? Is Maybelle going to be okay? Will emmy have a total mental breakdown? Will Carlisle notice how much the children look like Edward, and a certain daughter he lost?**

**What do you guys want to happen? Should I skip Carlisle's medical stuff, and just show a bit of the file Emerson gave him, so you'll get a bit more info? Or should I just skip to the quadruplets waiting in the clinic, and Carlisle coming out to tell them whats wrong?**

**Oh, and thanks to my reviewers and those who are favoriting/alerting me/this fic! You guys make my day:)**

_**Now you must review!**_

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_**Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeview! Click the button, please?**_


	5. Chapter 4

**This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written! Over 2,600 words, and more than six pages. Major accomplishment! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! And I hope that parts of it aren't too depressing . . . And, I think this is TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY!!! AHHH!!! Plus, that's like four updates in two days! I know, you love me:)**

**Well, I'm off! Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the cullens or bella, unless you consider Maybelle, Cassie, Leo, and Emerson cullens (which I don't, at least not yet)**

**Oh, and thanks a ton for the helpful reviews! I hope you like it, and that I didn't skip too much!**

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**CPOV**** (**_**continued)**_

I lay the girl down on a cot, mentally re-reading through everything I have ever seen regarding severe cases of Hypothermia:

. . . _The initial symptom is shivering. This shivering may progress to the point that it is uncontrollable and interferes with an individual's ability to care for himself. This begins when the body's core (rectal) temperature falls to about 35.5 degrees C, or 96 degrees F. When the core temperature reaches 35 to 32 degrees C, 95 to 90 degrees F, sluggish thinking, irrational reasoning, and a false feeling of warmth may occur. Core temperatures of 32 to 30 degrees C (90 to 86 degrees F) and below result in muscle rigidity, unconsciousness, and barely detectable signs of life. If the victim's core temperature falls below 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), death is almost certain . . . _

There was no doubt in my mind that I needed to work on this girl, and I need to do it fast.

_. . .To treat hypothermia, rewarm the entire body. If there are means available, rewarm the person by first immersing the trunk area only in warm water of 37.7 to 43.3 degrees C (100 to 110 degrees F) . . . _

At this point, I am taking out everything I need to heat this girl up as best as I can.

**Jump time . . . sorry guys, but I couldn't find any informative video's about how you would treat hypothermia in a hospital—they were all about camping or using hypothermia as a way to treat cancer or something**

Now that I have everything set up, I am looking through the large stack of papers the big, burly boy gave me.

On the front there are some names: _Maybelle Mary-Alice Swan, Emerson Charles Swan, Leonard Emmett Swan, and Cassandra Rosalie Swan._

How odd.

I continue on, reading quickly through all of the information, hoping to find something that would explain everything in some way. Apparently, a social worker, Debbie something or other, had gone by the four children's mother, Bella Swan—_what?_

**EPOV (Emerson! Not Edward yet, sorry folks. I don't wanna rush it)**

Cassie, Leo, and I have been sitting in these itchy waiting chairs for at least a half an hour. Abigail, the receptionist, has tried to start up conversation at least four times. Leo keeps on disappearing into the restroom to change his hair color. He says it's relaxing him.

I've been thinking about how Maybelle must have gotten out of the water. My guess is that she used her element, water, to help drag her closer to shore so she could concentrate on teleporting. I think May's the most beautiful out of all of us—maybe our mom knew, and that's why she named her Maybelle. After all, Belle means beautiful. May has long, curly chocolate brown hair with a unique red tint. Her eyes are green with a big of liquid hazel (my eye color, almost gold) around the pupil. And my mother's name was Bella, so maybe she just wanted to leave a piece of her with her kid. The only thing we really know about her, is that she picked out our names and wanted to put us up for adoption.

Debbie, our social worker ever since we were born—the one who found our mother, dead, on the living room floor of the house she apparently lived in with her grandfather, who didn't want us either—says that she must have had a reason, because every mother she ever talked to had some sort of reason. Debbie sees things a certain way, and I agree. She has a nice motto to go by:

You can't say good bye, before you've even said hello.

**CPOV (CARLISE! Cassie's feeling very sad right now, and I don't really want to know what shes thinking)**

I can't believe it. Bella had _kids. _Bella had _died. _I am sitting on the floor next to Maybelle's cot, my shoulders heaving with dry sobs. I may not have showed it, and I may have been a bit formal around Bella at times, but she felt like a daughter to me, maybe even more so than Rosalie does. And Esme . . . the only reason my Esme has made it this long without seeing Bella was because she was set on the fact that Bella was happy somewhere, with a family maybe, or a job . . . _not dead_!

And, now that I think about it, the kids looked a lot like Bella. Especially Maybelle.

I start rifling further into the papers. The kids had had plenty of medical problems as infants, with rapidly beating hearts and unhealthily pale skin. But, it says, shortly after moving from the hospital and in with a foster family, their health stopped deteriorating and started on a normal track—aside from the rapid heartbeat. And then, after that, they jumped from family to family, and had lived with fifteen different families by the time they reached the age of twelve, with monthly doctor visits. Then, there was something that scared me. I was about two thirds through the papers, and Maybelle's temperature was rising, but she still remained unconscious.

_Suicide, _it says.

I stare at the paper, not willing to believe what I was seeing. There were pictures of a pink-walled bedroom, blood splattered all over the sheets and the carpet next to the bed. And pictures of the knife, of Cassandra. I was horrified.

_Suicide, _it says.

The only reason why I don't throw the papers at the wall was the word before that. _Attempted. _It said that her siblings had rushed her to the hospital. But then it also said that Cassandra went into _withdrawal _following the attempt, and refused therapy as well as pshyciatric help, which led to a different foster family. There were brief side notes about what Maybelle, Leonard, and Emerson had said, things like 'she just wishes we had family' and 'she wants to be normal' and 'she thinks its her fault our mother died.'

I put the papers down and stand up, checking Maybelle's vitals. I would help these kids, if it was the last thing I did.

**CPOV (CASSIE'S . . . I think it's important that I have her thoughts after what I just said)**

While I know the doctor needs our background information, I also really wished he didn't. All of my suicide attempt information is in there. _Attempt. _I don't like that word. And maybe it's the depression, but I'm not sure.

Because depression isn't always suicide. Depression is obvious to only yourself, while suicide is obvious to everyone. Depression runs my life. makes me do things i shouldn't do. Like ignore Leo and Em when they try to cheer me up, and make Maybelle feel like crap even though I don't need to. Depression is that voice in the back of your head telling you that you need help. Depression has the feeling of death, without the dying part. Depression is still killing you even if you have things you should be grateful for—like having three siblings who love you as much as mine do. Depression is slow motion and fast motion at the same time. Depression is the illusion that the world has turned it's back on you and everyone in it. Depression is seeing happiness everywhere you go. Depression is hoping to survive and hoping not to at the same time. Depression isn't contemplating suicide, but wishing you were already there. Depression is hating yourself because your mother hated you enough to think about putting you up for adoption. Depression eats your insides with a smile on its face, and a smile on your own.

The depression is you.

Depression makes you who you are and who you'll always never want to be.

Depression makes you miss your old self, but once you're better, you miss depression. But for me, depression is all of these, plus when you have been it so long that you are scared of who you will be when and if you get better. You wonder if you could survive happy or if the happiness would eat you.

I can feel tears tumbling down my cheeks. This is the most honest to myself I have been in years—and even if it's just in my head. (**a/n: sorry about this being so sad . . . I just really want you guys to get to know cassie. And I'm personally learning a lot more about her through writing in her point of view—I never thought I'd make her so depressed until I just started typing in her POV. I didn't try—it just happened.) **

**LPOV ****(LEO!!!)**

Next to me, Cassie's eyes are closed but I can see tears running down her cheeks, and I can't help but wonder what she's thinking. I stand up and push her out of the seat, sitting down, then pull her back down on my lap. She opens her eyes, and they flash blue, like they always do before she freezes something. This time, it just happens to be some water Abigail just spilt on the floor. I look over at Emerson. He's just staring off into space, his eyebrows pulled together, something he does whenever he's over-thinking something. Abigail, unaware of the ice on the floor, is typing away on her computer, so I think it's all right for me to stick out my hand and flex my fingers, watching as a small spark of fire appears in the center of my hand, about two inches above my palm. I pull my other hand out from around Cassie, and curl it around the small fire before pulling my hands away from eachother, making the fire expand. I can feel my scalp tingling and my eyes sting as they change colors. My hair is probably gold and my eyes are probably red—those are the two most common colors whenever I play with fire. Cass reaches out and messes around with my hair.

"it's gold," she says in this quiet voice, and I know she's retreating again. I close my hands together and blow, making the fire stop. I tap Cassie's nose with my finger, and her cool gray eyes zero in on my own similar pair.

"Stay with me, okay?" I say, and my voice sounds uncertain even to my own ears. She surveys my expression, but doesn't make any move to reply. She must have understood what I meant. I plead with my eyes and she nods slightly before resting her head on my chest. Then, suddenly, she blows a bunch of cool air in my face. I can see the little pieces of snow-like ice on my eyelashes. I smile slightly at her, just happy to know that she's still here—and that I'm part of the reason why.

**CPOV ****(CARLISE!!! Sorry about the changing POV's, but I can't stop writing! Im really getting into it:)**

Maybelle's temperature is almost back to normal, so I've started removing all of the rewarming equipment slowly. When I am sure she's stable, I leave the room, leaving the door open so I will be able hear the slightest falter in the her breathing or the steady--but rapid--beeping of the heart monitor. When I enter the waiting area, nobody notices Abigail is typing away on what seemed to be an instant messaging server—once again making me question why I ever hired her in the first place—Cassandra is laying on the gray-eyed boy's chest, and the burly boy is staring at the wall.

"Quite a history you've got here," I say, holding up the papers. They all look up and, seeing it 's me, hurry out of their seats and across the room. "I'm afraid we never were acquainted," I say.

"Yeah, well Maybelle is our first priority," the burly boy says, sounding sure. "but I'm Emerson."

I raise my eyebrows. "You're the one who burnt the kitchen down?" I ask, remembering reading something in the papers about an Emerson burning one of his foster parent's kitchens and being rushed to the hospital with mild burns.

Emerson flashes a sheepish smile. "Yup, that's me." He almost sounds _proud. _

"Leonard," the gray-eyed boy says, offering a hand. I shake it.

"Carlisle Cullen," I say, and turn to Cassandra. She doesn't say anything. Leonard wraps an arm around her shoulder, whispering in her ear.

"Cassandra," she says after a moment, looking into my eyes. "Is Maybelle going to be all right?"

"Most likely," I say, and mentally wince. "No, she will be all right," I correct myself in a determined tone. "I'm absolutely certain she has Hypothermia, but I've brought her temperature back up, and she's stable."

All three of them visibly relax. And then Emerson punches Cassandra in the arm playfully. "I told you, kiddo!" he exclaims, and pulls her into a careful headlock, laughing. She smiles slightly, but I can see Leonard giving Emerson a look. Emerson drops his arms, but pulls Cassandra into a hug. She buries her head into his chest, and he holds her tighter for a moment.

"Can we go see her?" Leonard asks, without taking his eyes from his brother and sister.

"I don't see why not," I say, happy to see this unique sibling interaction, not without the normal bantering.

Emerson slowly pulls out of his and Cassandra's embrace, but takes her hand. She smiles at him thankfully, and he nods.

I lead them down the hall to Maybelle's room, and am surprised to see that her eyes are open. When she sees us enter the doorway, her eyes visibly brighten. Emerson drops Cassandra's hand, and rushes over to his sister.

**EPOV ****(EMERSON!!!!)**

When Dr. Cullen leads us down the hallway, Cassie's hand goes cold. I look over at her briefly, just in time to see her gray eyes flash to blue. She's nervous, and she knows it. I squeeze her hand, and the small smile that forms on her lips is the only sign that she felt it. Dr. Cullen stops in the doorway of a room and we all glance inside. Maybelle's sitting in the bed, looking pale and fragile, but definitely alive—and her green eyes are open. I can't help myself; I drop Cassie's hand and run to Maybelle's side, being careful to watch out for the machines and tubes. I settle for putting my hand on her arm. She sighs into the pillows. Dr. Cullen is checking all of the machines, checking her vitals.

"Hey, Bells," I say, calling her the nickname I gave her when we were little.

She smiles slightly, remembering. "Hey Emmy Bear."

"What about me?" Leo whines, pretending to be upset, but failing miserably—he has a crooked grin on his face, looking so relieved.

May grins even wider. "Hello Leo Lion," she whispers, "and Sissy."

For Maybelle, it was obvious—Bells and Belle (she also was obsessed with Beauty and the Beast for a while). For me, Emmy Bear because of my size—even when we were younger I towered over them—and how "cuddly" I was. For Leonard, Leo Lion, because, for one, the Leo sign is a Lion, and for another, he was a lion for Halloween once. And for Cass, she went through this stage where she thought Cassie was a bad name, so she had us call her CC or Sissy.

We all are silent for a moment, our imminent relief in the air. And then I turn to Dr. Cullen. "When do you think she can go home—I really don't want to get kicked out of another foster home." Leo kicks me, and I turn to him. "_What?" _He sighs and shakes his head.

"Why would your sister getting Hypothermia get you kicked out of a foster home?" Dr. Cullen asks, seeming genuinely confused.

"Do you know why May got Hypothermia?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "Exactly. And secrecy is usually something that gets you kicked out."

"No," someone says, stepping into the doorway. "it only gets you Swans kids kicked out of foster homes."

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**Mwahhahahahahah! I left a cliffie . . . hahahahahahahah! I only did this to bug you guys though, because the second I put this on FF, I'm going to keep writing! Hahahahahah! Now I feel really evil! **

**GO TO MY PROFILE TO VOTE FOR WHO THE PERSON AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER IS:)**

**Lol:) So we've still got one problem: how do you want Edward, and the rest of the cullens to find out? Because since Carlisle knows, he could tell the rest of them . . . but the only problem is, he doesn't know who the father is yet. And neither do Leo, Em, May, or Cassie. **

**You guys tell me what ya want to happen, and ill try to make it happen!**

**Leah:)**

**Now you review!**

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**It'll make me update faster!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Yay! New chapter! Not as long as the others (only 1,500 something) but still pretty good. I mean, at least im updating, right?**

**Anyway, thanks a TON to my awesome reviewers, and to those of you who voted!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the cullens or bella, but I do own my plotline and every character you didn't know before you read this.**

**Enjoy!**

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**EPOV (EMERSON!!)**

_Previously:_

"No," someone says, stepping into the doorway. "it only gets you Swans kids kicked out of foster homes."

_Currently:_

Debbie was standing there, her blonde hair in a messy ponytail, wearing a green sweatshirt and jeans. Debbie was in her early twenties when we were born, and was now about thirty seven.

"Debbie?" Maybelle squeaked out, and Debbie rushed over to her.

"Oh, baby, I was talking to Abigail, and she told me you guys had come through here—what did you do this time?"

"You were talking to my receptionist?" Carlisle asks, looking at Debbie.

"Yep," she says, popping on the 'P'. "Abigail's my sister, actually, and knows what the Swans look like—I always take pictures with the kids I take care of, and she must have recognized them, because I'm dealing with them the most. I was up here visiting my parents—_and _hoping that these kids weren't getting into trouble."

"She's our social worker," Leo explains, and Carlisle nods.

"So what did you guys do now?" Debbie asks.

"May got Hypothermia," I say, and Debbie looks at me, her expression perplexed.

"And how did this happen?" she says, sitting down in a plastic chair as if she knows this'll take a while.

"Uh," I say, looking over at Leo nervously, then May. They both shrug.

"C'mon, guys. I'll talk to the Brays for you," she says the last sentence in a sing-song voice.

Leo laughs. "No, you'll do that anyways."

She sighs. "Yeah, I know." She blows her bangs out of her eyes. "So what's been going on? How do you guys like Alaska? You excited for school?"

"To the first," May says, "nothing."

"To the second," I continue, "its fucking freezing, is what it –"

"Emerson Charles Swan!" Debbie interrupts. "And you _wonder _why it's so difficult to find you guys a family!"

"Actually," Leo says, sliding on his reading glasses and trying to sound professional. I snort and look away, rolling my eyes. "the reason for that is much more related to the fact that we need to be in cloudy areas and have medical complications. And," he adds, "along with that, we have quite an eventful history, which makes people see us as bothersome and—"

"Leo." I interrupt.

"—irresponsible," he continues. "Plus, most fosters are looking for younger children, from the age of two to ten—"

"LEO!" I yell, and he stops, looking over at me, sighing in an exaggerated way.

"Yes, Emerson?"

"Shut up," I say, and Debbie explodes into a fit of laughter, shortly followed by May.

"See?" she says to Dr. Cullen. "That is why I love these kid's so much."

"Yeah, well, do you love us enough to find another family?" I ask, glancing at my watch. "Because the 'rentals are probably home by now, and freaking out."

"Em, I know you don't like this, but could you stop calling them rentals?" Debbie asks, and pulls out her phone. "Now, if you'd excuse me. I need to make a phone call." She steps out of the room, and I hear her sneakers squeaking on the floor of the hallway.

"She seems happy today," I comment, and Leo nods.

"Yeah. PMS or something."

I burst out laughing, and Leo does the same. May is looking at us like we're mental. "I can't believe I'm related to you guys, let alone that I've been able to live with you ever since I was born. And don't get me _started _on the plane rides—"

"How are you feeling, Maybelle?" Dr. Cullen interrupts, checking the machines again.

"Fine, actually" she says, sounding sincere.

Dr. Cullen nods. "Well, you seem to be doing perfectly well." He pauses, and looks as if he's dying to say something else. All four of us look at him expectantly, even Cassie. He looks pained. I wonder why.

**CPOV ****(CARLISE)**

After Debbie exits the room, Leonard, Maybelle, and Emerson banter playfully, but Cassandra looks scared almost, like it was a bad thing that they were enjoying themselves.

I start checking all of Maybelle's machines, and everything seems perfectly fine. I tell her that, and she looks pleased. I'm dying to tell them something, anything. Maybe that I knew their mother, and that she was a great person. It pained me, knowing that they had had to go through so many things that they shouldn't have.

But I can't help but wonder . . . Who is their father?

**DPOV (Debbie)**

I step out of Maybelle's hospital room, dialing the Bray's number.

"Hello?!" Molly Bray's voice answers, sounding frantic.

"Molly, it's Debbie. The social worker."

"Oh my god, Debbie! Thank goodness! We have a problem, you see—"

"You can't find the kids," I interrupt.

"Yes," she replies, sounding confused. "How did—I mean, I suppose—"

"I know them," is my only answer. "And I'm with them right now."

"Are they all right?" comes Bob Bray's deep voice.

"Yes," I lie easily. "I'm sorry they did this. I'll have them home within the next hour, all right?"

"Oh, that's fine," Molly assures me. "I'm just glad they're all right."

"Wait one moment, where is your car?!" I can hear Bob yelling in the distance.

Molly sighs. "Debbie, is there any chance they have my van?"

"Wait one moment," I say, and rush back into Maybelle's room. None of them are talking, they are just all staring at eachother. "Guys, I have Molly on the phone right now. She wants to know where the van is."

"The parking lot?" Emerson says, and it sounds like a question.

"I'm sorry again, Molly, but yes, they have it. It is in one piece though," I say, glaring at Emerson. "I can assure you of that fact."

"Okay, thank you, Debbie."

"Yuh-huh. Buh-bye now, Molly, I'll be sure to have them back soon."

"Bye," she says, and I hear the line go dead.

I slam the phone shut, and continue to glare at Emerson.

"What?!" he squeaks out after a few minutes of my glare.

"I can't believe you!" I explode, walking in his direction. "You're not even old enough to drive yet!" I yell, poking him in the chest. "And you _wonder _why you've never been adopted!"

Leo clears his throat, putting his glasses back on. "Actually, we already discussed this. Debor—"

"Do. Not," I say. "Don't say it. Don't even _think _about saying it." I hate my name, and they know that. _Deborah. _I mean, what were my parents thinking?

Emerson coughs, so I know he's trying to cover his laughter. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Okay. Not freaking out," I say to myself, and then open my eyes. "The Bray's aren't mad at you, _even _about the car, so I'm hoping you guys will stay with them till you graduate high school?"

Emerson coughs again. "Uh, Debbie?" he says. "I really don't think that's going to happen."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to make it happen," I say, and turn to the doctor, whose eyebrows have disappeared under his hairline. "I'm going to pay for them, and hopefully their fosters won't find out. Can you start unhooking Maybelle from all of those machines?"

**MPOV (MAYBELLE!!! Right after the spot I stopped above!)**

Dr. Cullen doesn't answer right away. Again, he has that pained expression on, like someone's burning him. I glance over at Leo just to make sure that's not the case. His hands are—thank god—lying limp at his sides.

"That won't be necessary," he says finally. "You don't need to pay. I'll take care of it."

I glance over at Emerson, and he meets eyes with me. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Wait, what?" Debbie says, looking confused. "Why would you do that?"

"Well, I _do _own this clinic. And none of the other doctors who work here are on the clock right now," he pauses, his eyebrows drawing together, "for some reason," he adds. "But, regardless of that, I'll take care of it."

Debbie's already shaking her head. "Why?" she asks, and Dr. Cullen shakes his head. "Why?" she repeats. He starts to shake his head, but then thinks otherwise.

"I knew their mother," he whispers, too low for her to hear, but not for us to.

"That's not possible," I say, the gears in my head turning. "That was almost sixteen years ago. And you're what? Twenty five, tops? You would have been ten years old. Our mother was seventeen when she died—and she lived in Washington." Dr. Cullen winces when I say 'died.'

"Regardless, I knew her," he says, and when he says the word knew, I can see him cringe.

"Well," Emerson says. "if you knew our mom, do you have any idea who our father was? Maybe someone who looks a bit like us?"

**CPOV ****(Carlisle) **

Not possible . . . not possible . . . not possible. But my mind has already processed it—and it says it is possible.

If Bella was seventeen, like the kids, and the file, said than it would have to be . . . _Edward. _

**AHHHHHHHH! CARLISLE FIGURED IT OUT! Now, is he going to say anything . . . or not????????**

**EEEEE! Wasn't that an amazing ending to a chapter?**

**It was a cliffie!!! Hahahahah!!!**

**Now you review, because if I get at least 10 reviews, I'll update! If not . . . no update:( **


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter six! Yay! I'm on a roll! Hope you guys like it! Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter, even if there weren't that many (Not even ten! I mean, really guys? That hurts). This one's not that long, even shorter than the last one, but I've been updating a lot, so CUT ME SOME SLACK! to be honest, the shortness is your punishment for not reviewing!**

**I love this story so much, and I hope you do too!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight, Bella, everything that happened before this fic (Twilight, and the beginning of New Moon . . . with a lemon thrown in there before a week or so before Edward left) or the Cullens. I do own just about everything else!**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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**CPOV**** (Cassie, not Carlisle—sorry, Im probably torturing you guys)**

Dr. Cullen looks like he just saw a ghost. Or, no, he sort of looks like that guy in Bruce All Mighty after the monkey comes out of his ass. His eyes are really wide, and his mouth is in a perfect 'O'.

Em looks sort of confused, like he's wondering why Dr. Cullen would have this reaction to his question.A purple spot is spreading across Leo's hair, and his eyes are turning blue. I nudge him, and he abruptly returns to his natural colors.

Debbie looks even more lost than Dr. Cullen, and I want to laugh at her expression. But the vibe I am getting from Carlisle is telling me that would be a bad idea—and so is my gut.

**CPOV (yes, Carlisle; I really want to know whats going on inside his head!)**

This is bad . . . very bad. I mean, it's great that I have grand children—Esme will be thrilled. But the fact that I have no idea where Edward is, and that I haven't seen him in the past fourteen years, told me otherwise.

And to think that if we had stayed just a little bit longer, long enough to hear of the pregnancy, Bella would be alive and this children would not be parentless.

I look over at the children, Edward's children, my grandchildren, and feel like bursting into tears. Metaphorically, of course, as I cannot cry.

And then there is still is the problem of Debbie The Social Worker, who is standing in this very room. Before I know what I'm doing, I push Debbie The Social Worker out of the room and lock the door shut behind her. **(I want to laugh right now, but im not going to, because this isn't supposed to be funny) **She starts banging on the door, but I pay no mind.

The children look terrified—well, aside from Cassandra, who looks quite amused. Before I can utter a word, Emerson is pushing me up against the wall, looking the opposite of terrified—more _terrifying, _if anything_. _"What the _fuck _is your problem?" he hisses. Maybelle and Leonard seem shocked, as if they had no idea their brother would react this way.

"Emerson," Maybelle says, pulling the IV out of her arm, and storming out of the bed, wobbling on her feet. She doesn't seem to notice that, though. "Please stop," she whispers. "Please. You're scaring me." And that's all it takes to get Emerson off of me. He runs over to Maybelle, pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he says to her, sounding sincere. How odd. Had he not just been about to tear my head off? Cassandra still has the same amused expression on her face, and Leo looks—well, he looks stony. And with this expression on, I cannot help but think about how much he looks like his father. Now that I put the pieces together, I can recognize the odd feeling I got while looking into Maybelle's emerald green eyes as she was in the hospital bed—those exact same eyes had stared up at me from a similar bed about one hundred years before. Elizabeth Mason's eyes.

And with that, I sink to the floor, a sob ripping from my chest. All four of the kid's look at me, many emotions written across their faces. Leonard, with Edward's build and expressions. Maybelle, with Edward's human eyes and Bella's delicate features. Cassandra, with Bella's hair and Edward's stubborn emotions. And, oddly enough, Emerson, with Emmett's large bear-like build but Edward's caring side.

Without any warning, I dart from the room, out of the clinic, and head towards our home deep in the Alaskan woods.

I will find Edward, if it's the last thing I do.

**APOV (Alice!!!! EEEEE! I love her so much)**

I'm sitting at home with Rosalie, designing some new outfits with her online, when I have a vision of Carlisle running out of the clinic he bought when we moved here. I rush downstairs to the kitchen, where Esme is sitting at the counter, with the same depressed expression she has had on ever since we left Bella, and Edward left us. It kills all of us to see her like this, but there isn't exactly a way to cheer her up. I stopped having visions of Edward after a while. It's just blank. Carlisle thinks that it may be because I'm so unatuned **(I have no idea how you spell that) **to him now.

"Alice?" Esme says, looking at me with a worried expression.

"Oh, um, I just had a vision of Carlisle running out of the clinic and heading home. He looks sort of freaked out. He's going to be here in about . . . forty five seconds."

Esme nods and hops off of the counter, heading towards the front door. I follow behind her. Just seconds after we reach the door, Carlisle bursts through it, darting up the stairs, startling both of us. Esme and I look at each other, and then follow him up the elegant wooden staircase. When we reach his office, I saw him rifling through his drawers, clearly looking for something. After a few seconds, he holds up something small and silver "Ah-ha!" he exclaims, showing it to us. His cell phone? Esme and I blink at him.

Carlisle holds up a finger. _One minute. _He dials a number, and holds the phone up to his ear. It rings for a moment, then goes to an automated voicemail. I shake my head at him, having realized what he was doing. "Carlisle, he's not going to answer."

"And when have you called him?" he says, looking smug.

I roll my eyes, putting my hands on my hips. "Once a week since he left," I say, and his smug smile is wiped clean off of his face. "And he's only answered twice." He falls into the chair behind him, putting his head in his hands.

"_Carlisle,_" Jasper groans from downstairs.

"Sorry," Carlisle says.

I look at him suspiciously. "What are you up to?" I ask.

"Nothing," he replies, and darts out of his chair, startling me again. He grabs something from my pocket—my phone. He dials the number again.

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ring._

_Ri_—"Alice, I told you to stop calling me," Edward says, and I shriek, grabbing for the phone. Carlisle pulls it out of reach. I frown at him. I hadn't talked to him in years—no exaggeration.

"Edward?" Carlisle says, holding the phone to his ear.

"Yes, Carlisle," Edward replies, in a slightly annoyed, slightly longing tone.

"We have a slight . . . complication," Carlisle says, choosing his words carefully.

"And this _complication _involves me how?"

Carlisle is silent for a moment. "I would much rather discuss this in person," he says finally. "Where are you?"

I can hear the air rushing past through the phone. "I just crossed the border into Washington," he says, and Carlisle's reaction confuses me; he sucks in a sharp, unneeded breath, and looks panicked. Very odd for Carlisle.

"Son, turn around," he pleads, sounding strained. Then he seems to decide something. "Could you please come home? Just for one day?"

I can hear Edward sigh. This time, even Carlisle can't stop me from grabbing the phone.

"Edward?" I say, my voice cracking. "Edward, I'm so sorry I kept on calling you! I'll leave you alone, I promise! I've—we've _all—_missed you so much! Please, just—just _please _come home?" my voice cracks at least four times, and I can feel a sob building in my chest.

Edward is silent. All I can hear is the wind, and slowing footsteps. "Where are you?" he asks.

"Alaska?" I say, and its sounds like a question. "In Ketchikan?"

"I'll be there tomorrow," he says, his voice sounding strained. Then the line goes dead.

I feel arms wrapping around my waist and Jasper's there, his own expression pained. I bury my head into his chest. "He's coming home," I whisper.

"_Finally_," I hear Rose say from the computer room. And I laugh, for the first time in a while.

_He's coming home._

* * *

**Well, how was it??? I know Alice was a bit OOC, but this is how I picture everyone acting—leaving Bella and Edward being gone would have a really big impact, or at least it does in my mind. I just noticed that there's no Emmett in this oneyou're you're wondering, let's just say that's because he's downstairs playing video games, okay? Lol:)**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it! I'll update really soon—and I promise the next chapter's going to be longer!**

**Leah:)**

**PS: if you don't review, there will not be an update really soon. You can take my word on that! or, maybe i WILL update, but ill make it REALLY SHORT and with a really cliffie cliff hanger! yeah, that sounds like torture to me!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Only 1,600 something words, but still pretty solid. Hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, or New Moon**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**CPOV ****(Carlisle)**

The minute Edward tells Alice he's coming home, my mind goes into overdrive. Am I going to tell the others before he gets here? Am I going to go talk to the kids? How will Edward take it? Will he even stay the night? How will he take Bella's death? **(a/n: im really not looking forward to writing the part where Edward finds out about Bella and the kids. Im really afraid of how he's going to react) **

The only question I have a certain answer to is last one: Edward will be completely and utterly crushed. The guilt will no doubt eat away every ounce of happiness he has left. I can only hope that the news of the kids will help clear that away.

"Carlisle?" Alice says later that day, as I'm sitting down at my desk, staring at the kids' file.

"Yes?" I say, looking up at her and moving the file into a drawer on my desk.

Alice starts talking then, going at full speed. "I'm _really _happy that Edward's coming home—i mean we're _all _really happy"—she takes a deep breath and slows down—"but you didn't need to lie."

"What do you mean?" I ask, but my voice sounds cautious to even my ears.

"Carlisle." She sits down on the corner of my desk. "A _complication_?" I don't make any move to reply—I mean, what can I say?

After a few minutes of sitting there in silence, Alice stands. "Fine," she says. "But I _will _find out. Eventually." With that, she's running downstairs. I hear her talking to Rose and Emmett, something about needing to find a clearing to play baseball in.

And she was right. She _will _find out. But not eventually. Tomorrow.

**EPOV (Emerson)**

"I'm so sorry!" Maybelle says to Molly, who has been standing in front of us, her hands on her hips, for the past five minutes. Molly's tall, with black hair and olive-toned skin. She's about the same age as Debbie.

"That doesn't answer my question: What. Happened."

I was so right: secrecy does get you kicked out of foster homes.

**MPOV (Maybelle, from the same spot i stopped)**

I am pissed. None of them are helping me! I mean, do they _want _to get kicked out of another home? I don't! And how do they expect me to explain where we were?

"Really, Molly, I'm so sorry," I say, not answering her question. "We all are." I turn around and glare at my siblings. "Right guys?"

"Maybelle," Molly starts. "I _understand _that you're sorry. But I need to know where you were today! And yes," she says, looking at Emerson, "I do _need _to know. That's part of mine and Bob's job, being foster parents." When none of us make any move to reply, she shuts her eyes, taking a deep breath, and then points in the direction of the stairs. "Go to your rooms. Now."

We all rush out of the room, running up the stairs. Emerson gestures for all of us to follow him, and leads us across the hall to his room.

"So," he says the minute the door shuts, "what did I tell you? Secrecy _so _gets you kicked out of foster homes." He flops backwards onto his huge bed. I roll my eyes at him.

"So have you guys thought about how weird Dr. Cullen was today?" I ask, sitting down in the spinny chair at Em's desk.

"Yeah," Leo says, sliding down against the wall and pulling his knees to his chest. "What was his problem?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

"You don't think he . . . knows something," Cassie says suddenly, surprising us all. "About what we are, I mean?"

"But did you see his reaction to what I said?" Emerson asks, sitting up on his elbows to look at Cassie.

"Yeah," Leo says, looking up at us with neon blue eyes. "Em's got a point. I mean, he said he knew our mom, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did," I say slowly, and stop spinning. "And he completely froze up when I asked him how that was possible." I start spinning again, and then stop. "Wait, what if he's . . ."

"No," Emerson says, shaking his head. "No, Maybelle. Don't think about it, okay?" He said the last sentence gently, like it hurt to say.

"Why not?" I ask. "I mean, all of the facts are right in front of us. One, he knew mom. Two, he was wincing every time he or I said something about her dying."

"Three," Leo jumps in, "he kept on having these weird moments of realization, like he was figuring something out"

"Four," I continue, "he started sobbing when he was reading through the papers."

"Five," Leo starts, "Wait. What did you just say?"

"He started sobbing while he was reading the file," I repeat, shrugging my shoulders. "I'm being completely honest here. He thought I was unconscious—and I kind of was. But I could hear everything really well. I heard that rustling sound of turning pages on my left side, like way in the corner of the room. And," I add, "when I woke up, I looked over in the corner—and that folder thing we have to keep the papers in was there. No papers though."

"I don't want to say it," Emerson says, "but the more I think about it, the more obvious it gets. Why didn't we notice it earlier?"

"Wait a second," Cass says. "Are you guys suggesting that Carlisle is a _vampire_?"

**I was going to stop right here, as a punishment. But I decided that I needed to go farther, because that would be mean.**

"Well," I say, "Yeah."

"You guys are idiots," Cassie says, and disappears with a crack. I hear another crack in the distance—or more like down the hall. Way to make a dramatic exit.

"She went into her room," I say. We're all quiet for a few minutes.

And then Cassie bursts through the door.

"I mean, seriously!" she says, throwing her hands up in the air. "No duh he's a vampire."

"Wait, _what_?" Leo says, his hair a shiny silver and his eyes a dark blue.

**CPOV (Cassie. sorry about all of the changing perspectives!)**

Oh. My. God. I cannot believe I am related to them!

"Guys," I say, exasperated. "we've been talking about this ever since we were six years old. And when we _finally _find someone who could possibly, in some way, be like us, and you don't even notice it! And you"—I look at Maybelle—"he was touching you for more than an hour, and you don't even notice how cold he is?"

"Well," May says. "We were sort of gearing towards something a step _higher _than just being a vampire."

I look at her a moment, not getting what she's talking about. "No," I say, and shake my head. "Belle, come on! No way is he our _dad_."

"Why not?" Maybelle says, spinning once in the chair.

"Well, for one, he looks _nothing _like us," I say, raising an eyebrow.

"She's got a point," Leo says.

Maybelle spins to look at him. "Not. Helping." He shrugs, and his hair changes from silver to blonde.

"Why don't we go home?" Emerson says suddenly.

"Home?" Maybelle asks.

"Washington," he says. "I mean, our grandfather lives there, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Maybelle says in a sarcastic tone, "but he also didn't want us."

"Shut up," Emerson utters. Maybelle sticks her tongue out at him. "Oh, real mature," he says mockingly. Maybelle, using Em's power (**a/n: telekinesis, if you forgot) **whacks him in the face with a pillow. "You are _so _dead," he says, lifting up all of the pillows at once and raising them above his head.

"Oh yeah?" Maybelle says. "What are you going to do? Smother me in pillow—"

"Guys," Leo interrupts. "We're supposed to be figuring this crap out."

"Who cares!" Emerson declares, throwing himself back onto the bed. "We're orphans—"

"—as far as we know," Leo interjects.

"—our foster parents hate us—"

"—as far as we know," Leo repeats.

"—our grandfather abandoned us—"

"—and I really think you two should stop talking," Maybelle says, and starts spinning again.

I roll my eyes, sliding down against the wall and wrapping my arms around my knees.

"But honestly," Emerson says, and I watch as a basketball flies out from under his bed and falls into his arms, "who cares?" He tosses the ball up and catches it. "We don't even turn sixteen for more than a month! (**its the 26th of july, remember? and their birthday is september 3rd, a few weeks after school starts. oh, and if ur wondering, school starts on august third--my birthday!!! isnt it sort of sad, how bella died ten days before she would have turned 18?)** And do you really think the Bray's are even going to let us get a _license _after this?"

"So what?" Maybelle argues, and stops spinning. "We could run from here to Washington, Em! And to be honest, I can't think of any reason to stay here. If our grandfather doesn't want anything to do with us, I'm pretty sure we could find a place to stay."

"She's right," I say, wishing the conversation would end. "I really don't get why we should stay here. And we don't even _have _to run. There are four of us, and two of us can teleport—"

"Nuh-uh," Leo says. "No way. It may be easy for you guys, but for us, it hurts like hell. Feels like we're suffocating."

"Leo, it lasts all of one second," I reply, rolling my eyes, "and running would take at least a few hours. Plus, there's the problem of getting across the borders."

"Fine," he says, standing up. His eyes are violet, and his hair and eyebrows are black. He pulls the door open. "Tell me when to start packing." He slams the door shut.

"We'll finish talking about this tomorrow," Maybelle says, standing up, too. "I don't want to leave till after our birthday." She opens the door, but pauses in the doorway. "Even if we don't get licenses." She steps out, but leaves it open behind her.

"Bye Cass," Emerson says, not even glancing in my direction. I stand up and wave.

Bye Emerson.

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**Ohhhhhhh! Even if it doesn't seem like it, this is a total cliffie. *hint hint* **

**Hope you liked it:) I'll try and update later today!**

**Leah:)**

**PS: Reviews for Cassie (and for the update!)**


	9. Chapter 8

**This one's kind of short (again) but I want to keep on updating. Personally, I don't think this chapter is that great. But maybe you'll like it more than me. I just think that this was really hard to write, especially the parts with the Cullens.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Twilight Saga, nor am I Stephenie Meyer. **

**Anyway . . . I hope you don't hate it. Or me.**

* * *

**CPOV (CASSIE, about an hour so after where the last chapter ended)**

The moment the lights go off in the other's rooms, I teleport outside, being sure not to forget my rain coat. It's only drizzling, but its freezing. I dart through the trees, heading for the clinic.

When I reach the clinic, it's easy to find Carlisle's scent, but very difficult to follow; the rain has all but washed it away. His trail stops in the middle of the trees, but I walk a bit further, and—there it is.

The house is large and white with navy shutters and dark roofing. It's easily three stories high, with a large porch. I make my way up the steps, not feeling the least bit nervous. The thing most people don't get, is that my lack of conversation is not because I'm afraid to speak—it's because I haven't got anything to say that people would care to hear. To be honest, I don't think anyone cares.

But, instead of just knocking on the door and asking for Carlisle, I knock and then make myself invisible. I know, I know, that probably sounds really weird, but it's actually really simple. You just have to _think _about it, like with teleporting, and it happens. A small girl with a mop of black hair and pale skin opens the door. I carefully step around her, hoping she won't notice. See, the problem is, even if you can't see me, I'm still _there. _The girl looks around, seeming confused. I resist the urge to laugh, and head for the large wooden staircase. I dart up it quickly, and it—thankfully—doesn't creek. When I reach the second floor, I head down the hall and—_score. _

Carlisle is sitting at a mahogany desk, looking through some papers. He doesn't really seem to be paying attention to what he's doing though, and looks sort of frustrated. I roll my eyes and step into the room, closing the door behind me. Carlisle looks so startled—he even jumps up a bit, looking around the room. I laugh, and make myself visible.

The second he notices me, he freezes, his eyes going wide.

"Hey," I say, laughing, but inside I get that feeling, the one that tells you what you're doing isn't a good idea, "chill." He doesn't say anything though, so I take that as an _okay, you can come in, _and sit down on his desk. "So. My siblings seem to think you're our father."

This, for some reason, seems to shake him out of his state of shock. "I'm not—"

I roll my eyes. "No duh, of course you're not. I'm not retarded." Then I slide closer to him, leaning forward for 'dramatic effect.' "But I know what you _are_," I whisper, and when he doesn't reply, I smirk. "One word, buddy. _Vampire_."

**CPOV (CARLISLE, from the part I just left off)**

She's still sitting there, smirking at me, when Esme opens the door. She looks from me, to Cassandra, to me. And then Cassandra's eyes gleam, and she holds out a hand to Esme.

"Cassandra Rosalie Swan," she says, her eyes turning blue for a moment. Esme stares at her, looking confused, not taking her hand.

"So Carlisle," Alice says, appearing in the doorway "Is this the complication?" She flashes a grin at me, and turns to Cassandra, taking her offered hand. "Alice Cull—woah! You're hand is _cold._"

"Yep," she says, popping the 'P'. Her eyes turn blue again, and I watch in fascination as ice begins to spread across the wood floor.

We're all silent for a moment, then Alice says, "So, Cassandra, who are you exactly?"

"It's Cassie," she replies, holding out her fingers and ticking off each relation. "I'm the granddaughter of Charles 'Charlie' Swan, daughter of Isabella Marie Swan, the sister of Emerson Charles Swan, Maybelle Mary-Alice Swan, and Leonard Emmett Swan, and the foster kid of Molly and Bob Bray."

Nobody says anything. Nothing. Zip, zulch, nada.

"What's with the stunned silence?" Cassie asks, looking amused.

"You're Bella's daughter?" Esme chokes out.

"One of them," she says.

"How is Bella?" Esme asks, looking distraught.

Don't say it don't say it don't say it. "Dead."

She said it.

Esme sucks in a sharp breath and runs from the office, and I hear our bedroom door close. Alice stands there, her eyebrows pulled together, as if she can't quite grasp what Cassie said.

"Dead?" she repeats, pleading with Cassie with her eyes for her (**cassie) **to tell her its not true. But Cassie nods, looking confused as to why they would have this reaction.

Alice covers her mouth with her hand, and a sob tears through her chest. She runs out of the room, and I can hear her feet on the stairs.

Cassie turns to me, and opens her mouth, but no words come out. And then, with a loud _crack, _she's gone, and the only thing to prove she was ever there at all was the sound of sobs coming from downstairs and just down the hall.

**CPOV (Cassie)**

When my feet hit the ground in Leo's room, I fall to the floor, sobbing. What had I done? Why did they react like that? What if we really _were _related to them?

"Cass?" Leo asks, sitting up in bed. He jumps up, running to me. "What's wrong?" he asks, carrying me back to his bed. He takes off my rain coat and muddy shoes, putting them next to the door. He pulls back the covers, and climbs back into the bed, pulling me to his chest.

I fall asleep like that, clutching fistfuls of Leo's shirt, and crying into his chest. Just wanting to feel like someone was there.

**LPOV (leo)**

When I wake up the next morning, Cassie is still in my arms, her hands closed around fistfuls of my shirt. When I woke up to her sobs last night, I was scared shitless. She hadn't sobbed like that since the day she woke up in the hospital after her suicide attempt.

Today's July 27th, a Monday. Only a month and five days till we turn sixteen! and only a week till school starts.

I pry Cassie's hands off of my shirt and leave the room, heading downstairs to the kitchen. Molly is in there, scrambling some eggs. I grab some cereal from the cabinet, and take the milk from the fridge.

"So," Molly says, turning around to look at me, spatula in hand.

"So," I repeat, pouring the cereal into a bowl.

"LEO!" a voice calls from upstairs, and I can't hide my gratitude.

"Duty calls," I say to Molly, running up the stairs, bowl in hand.

"LEO?!" a voice calls again, and I recognize it as Emerson. I head for my room, where his voice is coming from.

I push the door open, and see Emerson, on his knees next to my bed, trying to calm Cassie down. I hurry to put the bowl down on my desk, and rush to her side. She's sobbing hysterically, the sheets pulled up to her chest. I sit down on the bed and pull her to my chest, pressing my cheek to her hair.

"What did you do?" I ask Emerson, and he frowns at me.

"I didn't do anything," he says. "I heard her crying, so I came in here. That's it, honest."

Cassie is silent now, but tears are steadily cascading down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I ask her gently, and she shakes her head. I look at Emerson. "Go," I say, and he stands up, holding up his hands in mock-surrender.

"Going," he says, leaving the room.

I turn back to Cassie, whose biting her bottom lip so hard that her teeth are cutting through. But before I can say anything, she takes a deep breath and starts speaking. "I went to his house," she whispers. "Carlisle's," she says, opening her eyes. "And—well, they definitely knew our mom."

"_But," _I say, because I know a 'but' is in there somewhere.

"But," she says, looking at me, "they had no idea she was dead."

"And you told them," I say. (**a/n: that's supposed to be a statement, so don't mistake it for a question. I didnt accidentally put a comma) **

"Yeah," she replies. "And I told them."

"And how did that go?" I ask.

"What do you think?" she asks rhetorically. She is probably trying to sound like it doesn't bother her, but her voice quivers and cracks. A tear slides down her cheek and she looks down at her hands. "Two other girls were there, and they both ran out of the room sobbing. And then I just teleported here. I just—I get that feeling that I did something really bad, even if I don't know it." She looks back up at me. "And then when I woke up and you weren't here—I don't know. I guess it just freaked me out." She lowers her voice, probably hoping I couldn't hear. "I felt like I was alone."

She felt like she was alone. _She felt like she was alone. _

What the hell is wrong with me?

* * *

**Well? The Cullens (or at least 3 of them) know about Bella and the kids, Cassie's getting depressed again, and Leo feels guilty as hell. **

**Fun stuff.**

**PROS and CONS of 'Leap of Fate' and its upcoming chapter:**

**PRO: Edward comes home today!**

**CON: I've got to find a way tell him what happened. **

**PRO: Maybelle is officially better**

**CON: Maybelle and Emerson have no clue what's going on**

**PRO: Edward may possibly find out about the quadruplets, which will hopefully take away some of the pain from discovering bella's death!**

**CON: I'm not sure whether or not I WANT him to find out about the quadruplets right away.**

**PRO: Alice knows how to keep him out of her head by singing annoying songs or translating something **

**CON: I'm not sure the other Cullens know how to do that**

**PRO: I don't have to write in Edwards perspective**

**CON: I don't think I **_**want **_**to write in Edwards perspective—I mean, would **_**you **_**want to be in his head when he finds out bella's dead?**

**PRO: I don't need to continue this list, because its making my head hurt.**

_**Anyway, you should really review now because I need to know what you want to happen before I continue writing!**_


	10. Chapter 9

**Hi guys! I'm so so so so so so sorry it took me this long to update! I had this part written a while ago, but didn't have any internet service, so I couldn't upload it:(**

**Anyway, I didn't get that many comments last chapter . . . but that's ok. cuz I know you are ALL going to comment for this one, right? **_**Right?**_

**So this one's really short. only 1,088 words. Oh, you don't like that? Well, deal with it! Lol:)**

**No, I just have REALLY BAD writers block . . . in my mind, I know exactly—sort of—what I want to happen, but I have no clue how to put it into words.**

**Which sucks.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, therefore i am NOT Stephenie Meyer. But I do own my plotline/characters. **

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**MPOV (Maybelle—rewind a bit, to when cassie started to cry—so like 3 minutes?)**

The minute I hear the sobs from down the hall, I know something bad must have happened, but I cant bring myself to get out of bed. My muscles are aching so badly, and my mind flashes to the previous day. The feeling of the last of my air burning away in my lungs as my legs and arms grew numb from the cold after mere moments. Feeling like, even if water was my element, I had no control whatsoever over what was happening to me. And then, the amazing feeling I had when I found myself standing in my warm bedroom.

By the time I refocus on the present, the sobs have stopped. A knock comes at my door, and Emerson pokes his head in.

"You decent?" he says, and when his eyes lay on me, they immediately soften. I swear, him and Leo are more like boyfriends then brothers, minus the attraction that would entail.

Emerson opens the door wide and closes it quietly behind him. I roll over on the bed, and feel my iPod headphones tangle around my neck—I must have fallen asleep listening to music. Emerson sits down on the bed—and on my feet.

"Feet," I say, and he gets up for a moment so I can pull my feet out from under him. "Thanks."

"Something happened," says Emerson. I give him my best _'no duh' _look. He sends a warning look back. "Cassie was upset, really upset. She wouldn't even look at me. And I didn't notice this earlier—but when I was leaving, I saw her rain boots and raincoat. They were all muddy."

"Em, we live in _Alaska_."

He sends me the look again. "No, really? But that's not what I mean. I'm thinking she went somewhere."

I raise my eyebrows. "Last night? Without telling us?"

"Belle, there're a _lot _of things she doesn't tell us." I shake my head, and he knows I mean to stop. "That's not what I meant—okay, fine that is what I meant, but that's not my point. Point is, you don't think she went to see that Carlisle guy, do you?"

I roll my eyes. "I honestly don't think she would go, in the middle of the night, without telling us, and look for some guy we hardly know—"

"—but that you were thinking was our father," Emerson interrupts, and I can't argue with that.

"But she didn't think he was our dad," I point out.

He nods his head, like this was something he had already thought about—and knowing him, he probably had. "Exactly. So she would have gone to get some sort of confirmation that it wasn't him." When I open my mouth to comment, he starts talking again. "Don't argue with me. Even if she doesn't talk that much, we know Cassie."

Once again: I can't argue with that. Even when she's silent, and tries to keep as withdrawn as she can, she's not that difficult to read, especially because I've lived with her since we were born, and seen her in almost every situation—seen how she reacts when we bring up our father. She literally _longs _to do—well, I don't know if she just wants to see him, yell at him . . . that's when the silence and withdrawal cuts in, making it difficult to truly know exactly what is going through her mind.

"You're right," is what I say in reply. "We do—most of the time. But not always." He nods in agreement, and then falls silent, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.

God, I love him. I know that must seem weird, 'cause most siblings our age are out to kill each other (**a/n: trust me, my siblings and I are) **but Emerson has been my rock for—well, for forever. It's the same with Leo and Cass—we've all got these weird connections, sort of like this feeling that I get in the pit of my stomach that Emerson will always be there for me, and will always be the one person I can always trust to put a smile on my face.

I tap the back of Emerson's hand, and his eyes snap open. He looks at me for a moment, searching for something, then hops of the bed and gently slides me closer to the wall, giving him just enough space to get in next to me. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his side, and I bury my nose into his cotton t-shirt (**a/n: its white, if ur wondering)**, just the fact that hes there making me forget about the way that my throat burns when I breathe and that my head is pounding. Making me forget that just down the hall, my sister might be in need of comfort.

See what I mean?

**APOV (Alice)**

I am so so so so so so so so so so _so _confused. Carlisle locked himself in his office all night, and still hasn't come out. And then that girl—_bella's daughter?! _She must have been lying. There is no way Bella is dead. I mean, I would have seen it. Wouldn't I?

I've been sitting on the same spot on the couch all night, just thinking. I stopped dry sobbing after a few hours, and Jasper left the house, mumbling something about "the emotions in this house driving him insane." Esme hasn't come downstairs either, so I can only assume that she's still in her and Carlisle's room. Emmett continued playing video games and watching TV for a while, but then even he seemed to notice the depressing feeling that was flooding through the house, and went with Rose to the garage to do who-knows-what.

Question: If Edward shows up and hears mine, Esme, and Carlisle's thoughts, will he even consider walking through that door?

Edward's coming home today. And if he hears this . . . I cannot even let my mind drift there. But these thoughts push me to get up off the couch and head upstairs towards Carlisle's office, where I knock on the door. No response.

"Carlisle?" I say, and knock again. "Dad?" I repeat the same action, once again to receive no response.

Question: If we don't tell Edward about Bella's death, but he ends up finding out some other way, what will happen to this family?

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**I know. It's a crappety-crap chapter ending. But MAYBE this will get you to review more, huh??**

**Lol:) no, but thanks so much to all of my readers/reviewers/favoriters/alerters! I have yet to get a seriously snarky review, so lets assume I'm an all right writer?**

**love,**

**Leah:)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Okay guys. The suspense is killing me too. **

**Thanks to the—four?—reviews I got in the past few minutes . . . literally. **

**This one's super short, but right after I posted the last one, i started writing--but then i got totally stuck. i'll tell you why in the A/N at the end of this chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: still dont own twilight.**

**

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**

**APOV (Alice**

We're all upstairs, leaning against the wall near Carlisle's office, when his voice drifts through the house.

"Hello?" he says for the second time, but his voice sounds wrong. Too empty. But, I still find myself running down the stairs—after making sure the lyrics to "I Will Follow You into The Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie are replaying again and again in my mind of course. Edward is standing in the doorway, looking completely and utterly miserable. When he sees me, his dark eyes brighten a bit—but he looks nothing like Edward.

He's wearing jeans and a tattered navy sweatshirt, his eye color showing me that he has been starving himself. There are dark shadows under his eyes, and his hair seems to have lost its shine.

And, because of this, I freeze. I don't reach out to him, or even say hello. This isn't Edward. This isn't my brother.

Esme runs down the stairs behind me, and pulls her son into her arms, clearly not caring how horrible he looks—how _different. _

"oh, my baby," she cries, clinging to him. "My baby's home," she whispers, and the look on Edward's face is heart breaking. His eyes are filled with unshed tears, and the guilt is just _seeping _from him. His entire façade has broken, and I can tell he's trying his best not to collapse.

And that's when I see it. This _is _my brother. And he needs me—he needs _us_—so much.

**JPOV (Jasper)**

The emotions of this family are killing me. First, there's Edward, who feels so much guilt that I am absolutely _drowning _in it. Then, there's Esme, who is both overwhelmed with joy—but crushed with sadness by what has happened to her son.

Next, there's Emmett, who I know misses Edward so much, but won't even get up off the floor to greet him. Rosalie—well, she misses Edward too, but I can tell she's trying to suppress it. Alice is ecstatic that Edward's back, but underneath that excitement is disappointment and depression.

Then there's Carlisle. He hasn't left his office since last night, when he came home from the clinic. He won't even come out now, and i can feel nervousness, worry, fear, dread, and—most of all—longing drifting out from under the door.

Like I said. _Killing me._

**APOV**

After he hugs Esme, he walks over to me and gives me a hug. "I missed you, too," he whispers, and I can feel a sob coming. God, I hate him so much—but I love him even more.

**CPOV (Carlisle)**

I can't stand this.

I know Edward is right down stairs, a moment away. My son, finally come home. But I also know that the minute I see him, I will burst. I can't do what Alice and Esme are undoubtedly doing—covering up their thoughts with silly songs or translations.

I can't lie to him.

I can't hide it from him.

But.

I can't tell him.

**APOV**

I can feel my resolve slipping. There is no way I can keep this from Edward much longer. And, after singing the entire _Plans _album, I'm getting a bit of a—metaphoric—headache.

After our heart full reunion, Esme dragged us into the living room. Jazzy, Emmett, Rose, and Carlisle still haven't come down, but Edward hasn't said anything. I know it hurts him though, especially that Carlisle, his _father _(not in the literal sense, of course, but pretty close) doesn't even seem to be excited by his return.

I need to tell him.

"Edward?" I say, breaking the comfortable silence. He looks up to me, with those sad, lost eyes—and I know I can't do it.

This will break him. So much more so than he has already been broken. Not that this whole thing isn't his fault, but if we could have done more—no. not going there.

What am I going to do?

**EPOV (Emmett. Sorry guys, but there is NO WAY I'm writing in Edward's perspective during this chapter)**

Okay. I need to go downstairs. I mean, I missed Edward. In a totally non-gay way, of course.

But that's not the point.

So I'm going. Downstairs. Right. _Now. _

Woah—Carlisle just broke the office door down. It lands on the floor with a heavy thud, and I watch as Carlisle runs in the direction of the stairs.

Woah.

**APOV (ALICE)**

Carlisle bursts into the living room, looking completely and utterly distraught. Oh, no. "Son," he says, his eyes filling with tears that will never fall. Edward jumps up and walks over to our 'father.' They stand there for a moment, and the entire house is silent. Then, just like that, Carlisle is doing something he has never done—at least not in front of me: breaks down sobbing. Esme even looks surprised. I can tell she's going to go over to him, so I put my arm down in front of her, shaking my head.

Edward puts his hand on Carlisle's shoulder, and he seems to calm down but still is—I don't know what you'd call it. Dry crying?

"Son," Carlisle repeats. "We need to talk."

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**I know. Shortest chapter ever, worst ending ever.**

**Just dont tell me that in a review. I'll cry.**

**So . . . here's my problem. Should i have Carlisle tell Edward about the kids AND bella or just bella?**

**Here's my opinion, if you care (if not, just skip it and review with YOUR opinion):**

**Finding out both things would be totally hard for edward to deal with, and to write. I'm thinking i should just have Carlisle tell Edward about Bella . . . and have him find out about the kids some other way that i will NOT tell you but already know. hence, it will cause more drama because he'll be mad when he finds out that alice, carlisle, and esme knew but didnt tell him. plus, it'll flow a lot better.**

**Once again, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK (YES, YOU, ALL OF YOU! EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. WHO. READS. THIS. FIC.) OR I WILL NOT--I REPEAT, _WILL NOT_--UPDATE!**

**Leah:)**


	12. Chapter 11

**Yayas for me! I finished another chapter, and its **_**longer! **_**Yay! ****So, I got the funniest comment **_**ever **_**for the last chapter from **aLiSOn395 **and i wanted to share it with you guys:**

_if you even dare to THINK about telling me it was a crappy ending again i will rip out your throat, feed it to the wolves, then, rip open their stomachs, get your partly dissolved throat back, and put it back on. then, when im done with that, i will take out your voice box so you cant say it again._

_get the picture?_

_i loved it!! write more soon plz!!  
look! im polite!_

**Isnt that hilarious? I was cracking up when I read it. So, I dedicate this chapter to **aLiSOn395**, the best commenter in the history of commenters. Also, thanks a ton to those of you who are continuously commenting and helping me with my blocks. And those people are: **aLiSOn395, mommyof3boys, **and **motherduckatschool

**I've been getting comments from these guys for almost EVERY CHAPTER, and am forever grateful. So, I dedicate this chappy to not ONLY aLiSOn395 but also mommyof3boys and motherduckatschool. ****Thanks so much guys for sticking with me!**

**DISCLAIMER: still don't own twilight.**

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**CPOV (Carlisle. Sorry, but there is NO WAY that I am doing this part in Edward's perspective)**

"Son," I repeat. "We need to talk." My gaze flickers to Alice and Esme. Alice is holding Esme down, and they both look like they want to burst into—dry—tears.

I turn back to Edward, who looks worried. I pull him upstairs, past Rose, Jasper, and Emmett, and into my office. I pick the door off of the floor and place it in the doorway tightly, then gesture for Edward to sit down. He settles for the corner of my desk. Where his daughter had sat, not many hours ago.

"What's the complication?" Edward asks, cutting to the chase.

I clench my hands into fists and grind my teeth together. I don't reply.

"Carlisle," Edward says. "_What's the complication_?"

Oh no. I can't do it. I thought I could but—no. I have to do it. For Bella.

"Son," I say, unable to even utter his name. "it seems something has occurred that we weren't—_aware _of." Oh god. How do I say this.

Edward's eyes narrow to slits. "What do you mean?"

"Er, under the circumstances, I would much rather prefer to _not _say anything, but it seems as if I must."

"What circumstances?" he asks.

How do you tell your son that the love of his life—no, _eternity_—died and he didn't even know? I can't just—_say it_! Can I?

I don't say anything. I sit there, silent. Looking at my son—in nearly every sense of the word. This boy, who has the kindest heart. This boy, who is _so stupid _(**a/n I know, that's not very touching is it? But while the cullens are very sad for Edward, they do think his actions were very stupid) **yet also amazingly clever.

"_What_?" he yells, pulling me from my thoughts—the thoughts that he heard.

"Carlisle, what are you saying?" he asks.

"Son—"

"Carlisle!" he yells. "_What are you saying_?"

"Bella's dead," I whisper.

Edward freezes, all emotions clearing from his face. He sits there, on my desk, seemingly carved of stone. Then he lets out a howl of agony that tears my heart to pieces. He buries his head in his knees, dry sobbing. His hands are in his hair, pulling hard. His knees muffle the agony in his screams, but I still very clearly can tell how much he's hurting.

Esme's banging on the office door. She ends up snapping it in half—I suppose I put it in _too _tightly. She rushes over to Edward and pulls him off of the desk and into her arms. "My baby," she cries, and falls to the floor, Edward in her lap. He seems completely unaware.

What have I done?

**MPOV (Maybelle)**

Whoo. School supplies shopping. Every teenager's dream!

Not so much.

Molly decided that, since school starts in a week, we should spend all day today _school supplies shopping. _Leon and Cassie seem really distant, and Emerson keeps on throwing glances in their direction. The car ride to Wal-Mart is taking forever, and it doesn't help that the only person talking is Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie. (**a/n: sorry bout all the death cab! they're one of my favorite bands though, so deal with it)** I'm really happy when _Photobooth_ comes on, and Gibbard stops talking.

I'm sitting in the front with Molly, so I keep on pulling down the visor thing and looking at my siblings through the mirror, because I don't want to keep on turning around.

God, I can't wait to finish with this. Molly's getting on my nerves.

**CPOV (Carlisle.)**

After a few minutes, I couldn't stand watching Esme and Edward, so I went downstairs, collapsing on the couch with my head in my hands.

I can hear Alice, Emmett, and Rose having a conversation in the kitchen.

"What did Carlisle tell Edward?" Emmett whispers.

"I already told you!" Alice yells, exhasperated. "Now is _not _the time!"

"_Why?" _he whines, sounding like a five year old.

I hear a loud bang, and my only guess is that Rose hit him.

"Hey!" he yells. "What was that for?"

"Shut up, Em," Rose says. Alice comes into the living room then, and I pat the couch next to me. She sits down and leans her head on my shoulder.

"Are we going to tell him?" Alice asks. When I don't answer, she adds, "That bella had kids, I mean?"

And that's when I remember that I'm the only one who knows the details. That they are not just Bella's kids—but Edward's as well.

I shake my head. Alice nods, like that's what she thought. No surprises there.

**SKIP A FEW HOURS . . . **

"Carlisle," Alice whines. "this is killing me!"

"It's killing _you?" _Jasper shouts from the kitchen. "At least you don't have to feel it, too!"

"I know, I know, sorry babe, but I _need _to go up there!"

"Alice," I say in a warning tone, rubbing my temples. If vampires could get headaches, I would have one right now.

"Please?" she asks. "Esme is up there!"

"I know that Esme is up there," I say, "but that doesn't mean you can go up there too. You need to give him some time, Alice. Think as if it was Jasper and you didn't know for _fifteen years_."

Alice cringes, but is silent after that.

Alice had caved and told the others about Bella's death. Emmett and Rose left the house an hour or so ago, saying they needed some alone time. I don't think this was their normal type of alone time though (which generally consists of . . . ya know. Major make-out sessions and lemons). Emmett looked crushed at the thought of having lost his little sister forever, and even Rose seemed saddened by the news. Jasper—he had retreated to the kitchen, not showing any emotions on his face.

No matter how much I'd like to deny it, Bella's death is tearing my family apart.

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_**FAST FORWARD ONE WEEK EXACTLY—TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. SORRY GUYS, BUT YOU KNOW THAT THE WHOLE WEEK WOULD JUST BE THE SWANS MESSING AROUND AND THE CULLENS MOPING. NOTHING FUN TO WRITE, OR TO READ. I HATE WHEN PEOPLE JUMP A LOT OF TIME IN FICS, BUT ITS NOT LIKE I'M JUMPING YEARS. JUST A WEEK. SEVEN DAYS, PEOPLE!**_

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**CPOV ****(Carlisle)**

Esme convinced Edward to stay with us for at least a year. I have no clue how, but she did it. He's going to start school with the rest of the kids too, but he's starting late. He needs some time, and we all understand that.

Alice is excited for school, but the others are all miserable.

Alice and Edward are going as Juniors and Emmett, Rose, and Jasper are going as Seniors. We got them to have most of their classes together. Edward doesn't have one class without his siblings. He has P.E. with Em and Jasper (the physical ed classes are freshmen/sophomore and junior/senior), and everything else with Alice.

I'm just happy he's home.

**mpov**** (Maybelle)**

Cheerleaders. So fricken many of them. Like, honestly, Cassie is probably ready to put a gun to her head.

And I still can't believe Leon, Cass, Em, and I only have one class with all of us together. I mean, you'd think they'd try and keep the siblings together, wouldn't you?

Anyway, I've got history first. Joy. Em's got math, and Leon and Cass have English.

I am so jealous of them. Meaning Leon and Cass. They've got two classes together, aside from the one we all have together. Em and I have no classes with either of them or eachother, outside of the one class.

Sucks.

For first block, the entire school is having an assembly in the huge gym. Yay.

Well, at least I get out of history.

But that doesn't mean I get out of meeting the students, or away from this tall, tan-skinned guy with cropped black hair who smells like burnt, wet hair. Ew.

"What's your name?" he asks me as we had to the gym. The top of my head doesn't even reach his shoulder. Wow.

"Who wants to know?" I reply, scuffing the tips of my multi-colored converse on the pathway. The guy doesn't reply, so I take it he's not into the joking thing. "Maybelle," I say, and he presses his lips together tightly, like he's trying to hold something in. We continue walking, silent, while the students ahead of us are loud and chatty.

"Jake," he says, and I glance up at him. His eyes have a sad, far way look to them.

_Wei_-rd.

When we get to the gym. I make sure that I'm sitting as far away from Jake as possible because I keep on feeling these weird tingles under my skin when I'm near him.

My class is one of the last to arrive, so the minute I enter the doors I'm looking around the gym for Leon, Em, and Cass.

Leon's sitting at the top of the set of bleachers to the left, and Cass is sitting about twenty seats to his right. Emerson is sitting in the same set of bleachers as them, but way down in the second row, his eyes trained on a blonde cheerleader standing in the center of the basketball court. No surprises there.

I can't _wait _for this day to be over.

Too bad it's barely begun.

**JPOV**** (Jake.)**

The minute the new girl walks in, pretty much the first new kid to come the KHS that isn't a freshmen in years, I know who it is.

Maybelle _Swan. _

Bella's kid.

The one who killed her.

The one she never told me about.

I can't look her in the eyes. I can't look at her, and see all of the things that would remind me of Bella. Or the things that force me to acknowledge the fact t hat Bella had _sex. _With _Edward. _

I can't stand to look in her eyes because of the fact that I refused to go to bella's funeral or to help Charlie. How the minute I heard, I ran off.

Yeah, I ran off all right.

To hunt down and kill Edward Cullen.

**LPOV (Leon)**

I scan the bleachers, looking for my siblings.

Maybelle's the easiest. She's walking up the bleachers right now, her multi-colored custom made hight tops in plain view. It also helps that her sweatshirt is teal blue with the words 'MUSIC IS LIFE' written across it in neon purple letters. Emerson's sitting below me.

When my eyes lay on Cassie, I immeadiately know something is wrong. Some of her hair has fallen out of it's braid, framing her face and sticking to her sweaty forehead. Her two index fingers are pressed to her temples, and her brow is creased. Her eyes are closed when I first look at her, but then they open and I can see that the gray of her eyes is rapidly switching to ice blue then back again, conveying one word.

And that word is the exact one that her unnaturally white lips form, just moments before her eyes roll back into her head and she starts to shake.

_Help._

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**Whew. Did you love it? Hate it? Do the cliffies make you want to scream? I know I want to! And I wrote it!**

**Okay. So someone complained about all the switching POVs in the last chapter. If you hated that, but just didn't want to hurt my feelings, im so sorry! I was sort of freaking out about Edward while writing the last chapter . . . and I thought you guys might like to know what the other cullens were thinking. Sorry again!**

**Anyway, please comment with what you think about this chapter! And, I'm okay with you saying you hate me because I made it a cliffy. oh, and i'm sorry about all of the a/n's in this. i need to stop doing that. **

**Someone commented about how I shouldnt say I want a certain number of comments, so I'm not going to. But I am going to tell you already have part of the next chapter done, and I'll post it **_**sooner **_**if I get some comments. (see? I said some! Not a certain number)**

**love,**

**Leah from Simply Nerdy Book Reviews **


	13. Chapter 12

**Here's a shorty, thanks to the 14 readers who ACTUALLY REVIEWED the last chapter I put up! (ok, i know i only put it up a few hours ago . . . but STILL!) I love you guys. In a totally non-weird way. **

**So, let's recap: Cassie went into cardiac arrest during the 'start of school assembly'. Way to make a good impression.**

**Even if it's short, I hope it makes up for the serious cliffie I left last chapter!**

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**LPOV (Leon)**

Before I even think about it, I'm jumping over the person in front of me and running to Cass. The person sitting on her right, a tall girl with glasses, has her cell phone out and is dialing frantically, The kid on her left, a small boy with braces who looks like he belongs in seventh grade, not tenth, is trying his best to hold her down. Our teacher, Mrs. O'Connell, is shouting "Call 9-1-1!" while the girl with the glasses is shouting on the phone. Trying to focus on Cassie, I kneel in front of her, pulling her onto my lap, the small boy doing his best to help.

I can hear tons of kids yelling and shouting, but the only two voices I really _listen _to are Maybelle's and Emerson's, yelling for me to calm down and make sure we get help.

This is absolute chaos.

Cassie stopped shaking after a few minutes, but now her breathing is way too shallow and her heart is beating way too slow—even if she were a human.

The ambulances just arrived outside, and some teachers try to pick up cassie so we can get her down the bleachers, but Em and I have gone into crazy protective mode. If anyone is going to be carrying her, its going to be me or Em.

The moment we reach the bottom, EMT's burst through the door, not without a gurney. They rush to strap her on, and when he exits the doors they start running the gurney out to the waiting ambulance.

Maybelle, Em, and I have no problem keeping up.

"Her heart's not beating!" an EMT shouts as they're loading her in, and my breath catches in my throat.

Her heart's not beating.

**EPOV (emerson)**

Leon freezes when the EMT says Cassie's heart's not beating. I have to grab him, but before we can get into the ambulance, an EMT blocks our way.

"Whoa whoa whoa," he says. "Who are you?"

"We're her siblings," we all say in unison. The man nods and rushes to get us into the large ambulance. The other EMT's are trying to start her heart up again with those electrical shock things.

"Do you guys have a history of heart problems?" the EMT who stopped us asks as the ambulance begins to move.

"Yeah!" I yell over the shouts of the EMT's and sirens. "We were born premature and were hospitalized for the first four months of our lives. Our hearts beat too quickly and we've had a lot of medical issues since then!"

The man looks interested, and then proceeds to ask us about parents they can contact and if Cassie is on any drugs or medication. Maybelle and I—as Leon is still frozen—explain how our mother died giving birth to us, how we don't know who our father is, and who we are currently living with. Then we say how we have no knowledge of Cassie being on medication or any types of drugs. When we reach the hospital five minutes later, Cassie's heart is barely beating and they've stuck a breathing tube down her throat.

Leon seems to have unfrozen, but has disbelief written all over his face. Maybelle's expression is the same as we watch them wheel our sister to the emergency room. It's so—unexpected, yet so realistic.

It's like our life is a movie, the three of us sitting in an ambulance as they pull our barely-alive sister away. Everything around me seems to be in slow motion. Then the music would come on, probably something like _Life is Beautiful _by Vega 4, and all other sounds fade out.

Only, unlike in a movie, there's no one here to say 'cut'.

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**Awwww:( I recommend listening to **_**Life is Beautiful **_**by Vega 4, if you've never heard it. It's a really good song, but it always makes me want to cry.**

**So, I'll have another chapter up soon . . . if you review! this chapter AND the last chapter! No, I'll update soon anyway, but reviews make it go up faster, since I'm already done with the next chapter all I've got to do is . . . publish it. But I'm not doing that till I get some comments!**

**love,**

**Leah from Simply Nerdy Book Reviews**


	14. Chapter 13

**Okay. I give up on the whole wait-for-comments-to-update thing. But I'm hoping at least SOME** **of you like this fic enough to care that Cassie may DIE. **cough** **IsssaWorldOfCrazyQueen and motherduck at school****cough** lol:)**

**see motherduckatschool's creepy . . . yet touching . . . i think . . . concern:**

_WHAT!!  
NO  
SHE CAN NOT DIE!  
A VAMPIRE CAN NOT DIE.  
IF SHE ** DIES I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND FEED IT TO THE WEREWOLVES THEN  
I'LL LET THE BAD VAMPIRES DRINK YOUR BLOOD BEFORE BURNING YOUR ENTIRE BODY!  
ok i feel better now.  
Loved it.  
(see i'm really kind)  
Keep writing,  
Motherduckatschool_

**DISCLAIMER: don't own twilight. Never have, never will. **sob****

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_**BREAKING NEWS: THIS JUST IN! HALF-VAMPIRE NEARLY DIES OF CARDIAC ARREST!**_

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**APOV (Alice)**

Oh. My. God.

Bella's daughter just went into cardiac arrest.

Oh. My. God.

_During our start of the year assembly._

I grab my phone from my bag, dialing frantically as the room unfolds into chaos.

"Alice, I really can't talk right now. I'm about to do a—"

"Carlisle!" I yell into the phone. "Bella's daughter! She just—she went into cardiac arrest!"

"_What?" _he asks.

"I just saw it! I swear!"

"Alice, calm down. Tell me _exactly _what happened."

"Well," I begin, "we're having that start of the year assembly thing, when all of a sudden Cassandra starts to seize, and this boy freaked out and ran to her—maybe he was her boyfriend—"

"Alice."

"I know, I know. Stay on track. So then everyone just starts freaking out and someone must have called 9-1-1 because an ambulance showed up. They're taking her to the hospital now."

Carlisle is silent on the other line.

"I'm going," he says finally. "Right now. I'll have one of the other doctors cover for me."

"Oh! Wait!" I exclaim before he can hang up. "Tell me what happens, okay? They're going to let school out early, so I'm going to be able to answer if you call."

"All right," Carlisle says. "I'll keep you posted." Then the line goes dead.

**CPOV**

I reach the hospital in mere moments, having run the entire way.

"Dr. Cullen?" the lady, Nicole, at the front desk says in surprise. I had worked here at KGH (Ketchikan General Hospital) before opening the clinic. When the clinic's slow, or I'm not needed there, I come here. KGH is usually short on staff.

"Has a Cassandra Swan been admitted yet?" I ask.

"They're bringing her to ER right now," Nicole says, her eyebrows creased. "Why?"

"She's—a close family friend," I say. "Would it be all right if I headed over there?"

"Anything for our prize doctor," she says in a teasing tone, then hands me one of the spare scan-in keys.

"Thanks," I say over my shoulder as I head towards the staff entrance.

"No problem," she yells as I scan the key. I wave as the door closes behind me, and run as fast as _humanly _possible to the Emergency unit.

The general Emergency unit is one of the largest sections of the hospital, as many accidents occur due to the weather. There are four beds lined up against the wall, only one of which is occupied. On the opposite side of the room, in the left corner, is a large desk for admittance and such. A tall man of Indian descent stands behind the desk, shuffling through a file. Preetham, one of our surgeons. Behind him, up on the wall, is a large screen. It is titled _EMS Notification,_ and below that are two names and information:

**_Clark, Karin_**

_F _64 yo

_Fall/Head trauma_

_**Swan, Cassandra**_

_F _15 yo

_STATUS UNKNOWN_

At that moment, three EMTs burst through the general Emergency entrance, wheeling Cassie on a gurney. She has a breathing tube down her throat. A short man with black hair speckled with gray, Dr. James Austin, one of our cardiac specialists, notices me standing off to the side and gestures for me to step in next to him.

"Nicole paged me," he says, and I nod. He turns his attention on Cassie.

"Her heart's not beating again!" Austin yells "Jeff, get the defibrillator! NOW!" Jeff, one of the EMTs, pulls out the defibrillator and takes the paddles in his hands. He tears off Cassandra's shirt, leaving her in nothing but a bra. He holds the paddles and slams them down on her chest, administering a controlled electric shock to the heart that will hopefully start it up again. "AGAIN!" Austin yells when there is no immediate response. He does it two more times, and when nothing happens, I reach over and grab the paddles, doing it myself. After about four more tries, her heart has started beating--just barely, but I'm content.

"Where are her siblings?" I ask, knowing that there was no way that the other Swan children would have let Cassandra be taken without them.

"Still in the ambulance," the second EMT says.

"All right guys," Austin says. "Let's get 'er hooked up! Don't wan' 'er to crash again, do we?" he asks, looking straight at Jeff. Jeff nods furiously, seeming to be embarrassed.

As they pull her in the direction of the separate units, where we could work on her privately, I keep pace with Austin.

"You know what happened?" I ask him.

"Apparently she just went into cardiac arrest at a school assembly. Brother and sister said no drugs or medication—I believe them, but I'm not so sure. I glanced at the record just before they showed up—there was a suicide attempt, so who knows?"

I nod in agreement as we turn down the hall, following the EMTs into PU2. They carefully transfer Cassandra to the bed, and all of the EMTs leave the room. Austin and I hurry to unhook her from the portable breathing tube, and I quickly replace it with the hospital one, while Austin holds an oxygen mask over her mouth. Then we both hook her up to the heart monitor, keeping the artificial heart machine nearby, as well as the defibrillator, just in case.

"I'm going to go get her siblings, all right?" I tell Austin. "You okay for a few?"

"Yeah," he replies. "Plus, I've got the entire crew just down the hall. Chill, Cullen."

I roll my eyes at his simple way of putting it, and run back towards the general entrance to ER. The three other swan children are sitting in the back of the ambulance, disbelief written all over her faces. When they hear my footsteps, all but Leonard look up. He seems to be in a trance.

"Dr. Cullen?" Emerson asks, sounding surprised. Leon looks up at that, obviously having heard my name. Maybelle waves at me in a half circle, looking crushed.

"Did you do something to her?" he snaps.

"No!" I exclaim. "Why would I have? _When _would i have?"

He sends glances in the direction of Emerson and Maybelle, before turning back to me. He doesn't respond.

"Is Cass okay?" Maybelle asks, ignoring her brother.

"For now. We got her heart restarted, but its abnormally slow. And she's still unable to breathe on her own."

"Can we go see her then?" Emerson asks eagerly.

"I'm sorry, but no. We are not permitted to allow visitors unless the status of the patient has been determined. I can run you down to general lobby, but that's pretty much it."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen. That would be great," Maybelle says, throwing an annoyed glance in Leonard's direction.

"All right. If you three would just follow me . . ." I lead them through the doors, only to be greeted by loud shouts of 'why didn't you check her BP earlier?!' and 'where did it all go?!' I gesture for the Swan children to stand off to the side then run down the hall to where the shouts are coming from. Austin, Jeff, and a few other doctors are arguing.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" I yell, and they all shut up. "Will _someone _tell me what's going on?"

"She only has half of regular blood supply, and its much too thin. That's why her heart wasn't beating—there was nearly nothing to circulate!" Austin yells, and rubs his face hard with his hands.

"Where did it all go?" I ask him, and everyone in the room is silent.

"We don't _know_," Jeff says. "That's the problem!"

"What do you mean you don't _know_? Would anyone in this room like to tell me just exactly how 1.75 _quarts_ of blood just _disappears?_" When no one answers, I let out an exasperated sigh. "Go! Get some blood then! Don't just _stand _there! (**a/n: I know, very unike Carlisle. But hes sort of freaking out because his granddaughter could die at any moment, so you cant exactly blame him)** The minute they exit the room, a thought pops into my mind. And, just like that, I know _exactly _how 1.75 quarts of blood disappears from a _half vampire's _body.

* * *

**Mwaahahahaha! Do **_**you **_**know? Comment with your ideas!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Well, here it is. The chapter you've been waiting for. Ha! I told you I'd have it up tonight!**

**DISCLAIMER: don't own twilight. Still not Stephenie meyer. **

* * *

**CPOV (carlilse--you may need to re-read the last few paragraphs of the last chapter) **

As soon as I'm sure that there is no one in the hallway, I run out of Cassandra's room and back to where I left the other three Swan children.

"Is she all right?" Leonard asks frantically.

"There seems to be a slight issue," is all that I say. Emerson makes rapid gestures for me to continue. "it seems as if your sister has lost approximately half of her blood supply, which must have been the initial cause for going into cardiac arrest. None of the doctors could find any cuts from which that much blood could have been lost. Do you have any ideas?"

**LPOV (leo)**

I knew it! I _knew _we shouldn't have let her sneak off on her own and, I quote, 'hunt in private'! Ugh. And, this has been going on for _months. _See, we generally hunt once a month, and on occasion twice a month. Each of us usually drain two or three deer, so . . . when you think about it . . . all of that blood can really add up in six or so months. Want me to prove it?

Okay, here we go. A little math for Cassie.

The average amount of blood in a deer is 1ounce of blood per pound of body weight. For example, and one hundred sixty pound deer (the average weight of a young male or fully grown female) would have an approximation of 5 quarts of blood within its body.

So, for the sake of the argument, lets multiply those 5 quarts times 3 (three deer per hunting trip), which would mean 15 quarts per month. And, ignoring the fact that in the past six months we've gone on 8 hunting trips, not 6 (we went twice during two of the months), lets multiply 15 times 6.

That would mean she had deprived herself of 90 quarts of blood. Which is _way _more than the 1.75 quarts her body seems to be missing . . . but, my personal assumption is that our body doesn't hold over 90 quarts of blood, so maybe the blood we drink goes . . . somewhere else?

But then how do you explain the blood loss?

**CPOV**

I can tell Leonard has figured it out, or at least is _trying _to. He looks a bit frustrated though.

"Cullen!" a voice calls from down the hall. Austin. "We're going to begin the transfusion! Her BPs dropping!"

I turn to leave, but then think otherwise. "Stay here," I say to the Swan kids, my grandchildren. "We need to talk when this is overwith."

And, with that, I'm off.

**LPOV**

While Dr. Cullen runs off to help with Cassie's transfusion, I continue mulling over what could have caused Cassies loss of blood. We don't heal abnormally fast, so there is no way that she could be seriously harming herself without any unhealed cuts or scars—or without us noticing.

I continue turning over different ideas in my mind, but none of them seem to fit. Belle and Em look plain confused, but don't utter a word. We end up migrating to some chairs that line the wall, so we weren't standing in the middle of the entrance.

Carlisle finally comes back out an hour and fifteen minutes or so later, pulling gloves off of his hands. "She's fine," he says, before we can ask. "We're still waiting to see if her body reacts oddly, but she seems to be fine." When none of us say anything, Carlisle says, "You can see her in about thirty minutes, so long as nothing goes wrong.. One of the other doctors is contacting your foster parents as we speak. I'm hoping we get a chance to talk before they arrive."

Emerson and I nod, while Maybelle just presses her lips together. When neither me or my siblings utter a sound, Carlisle sighs. "That was when you three were supposed to agree," he informs us, looking tired—or at least as tired as a vampire can look. He sighs again. "Follow me," he says, and leads us down the hall to what appears to be an office. On the desk, a name plaque says 'DR. JAMES AUSTIN' . . . who Carlisle obviously isn't, but I disregard this fact as he locks the door shut behind us. He sits down in 'DR. JAMES AUSTIN's seat, while we take three of the four seats that are on the opposite side of the mahogany desk.

"You're not human," he says, cutting to the chase. This man certainly has a one track mind.

"And neither are you," Belle (**a/n: if you haven't figured out who belle is yet, its Maybelle. I like the name belle better than may or Maybelle) **shoots back, and Dr. Cullen nods.

"No," he says, "no, I'm not." Then he leans forward in his chair looking at us dead on. "But you four, you're very different. Neither vampire nor human. Unique, in such—"

"And?" Belle interjects, sounding annoyed.

"And, the point is, you and I both know that Cassandra's surprising loss of blood has nothing to do with the normal causes.

"Dude," Emerson says, sounding just as annoyed as Belle. "If we knew why, we would tell you!"

"And since we haven't told you," Belle continues, her eyes narrowed, "we obviously don't know.

I stay silent, still mulling over the fact that I, in some way, could be partially to blame for my sister's current state.

* * *

**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH! I TRICKED YOU INTO BELIEVING YOU WOULD FIND OUT, DIDN'T I?**

**I feel so evil! But, you know what, I'm really sad right now because I usually go to this sleepaway camp every summer for a month, (as in EVERY SUMMER since FOURTH GRADE) but this summer I couldn't go, so today I was looking at some of the pictures (online) of all of the fun my friends (and ex-boyfriend, who I'm—amazingly—really close friends with now) were having and now I feel really sad. It's so not fair!**

**NO ONE can stop me from going next summer. You hear me? NO ONE! **

**So, in conclusion, don't be mean in your reviews. I mean, yeah, you can yell at me for not updating with the reason for cassie's loss of blood. Trust me, im not going to try and stop you. Just please don't say anything mean about my writing or story, like 'this story is stupid' or 'your writing sucks'.**

**Thanks, guys. I'll try and update soon (and i NEED to update before friday, because after that--for TWO WEEKS--i wont have internet unless i go to the library. i'll be going to a writing camp at UCSD--yeah, the college--for part of this time, so maybe when i come back my writing will have improved in some way. and maybe ill get rid of my writers block!)**

**Love,**

**Leah:( from **www _DOT _simplynerdy _DOT _com


	16. Chapter 15

**OHMIGOD I AM SO SORRY I HAVENT BEEN UPDATING! I hope you forgive me when I start updating weekly . . . **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight, but I do own this fic, so if you try and do something . . . I'll whack you with a stick. **

**On **_**that **_**pleasant note, lets get on with the chapter!**

* * *

MPOV (Maybelle. This whole chapter's in her POV)

Carlisle seems to hesitate before speaking. "Do you guys know what the spleen does?"

"What the hell does that have to do with our sister going into cardiac arrest?!" Emerson yells. I put a hand on his arm.

"Yeah . . . but Em's right. What does that have to do with Cassie's going into cardiac arrest?" I ask.

"The spleen is a very important organ, and when it is injured, the results can be life-threatening—"

"Meaning?" I interrupt.

"Meaning that if Cassandra hasn't been feeding, and if there are some complications with her spleen—"

"why would there be any complications with her spleen?" I ask.

"No, that makes sense," Leo says. "Guys, think about it. If we really are part . . . you know . . . we wouldn't need a spleen, would we?"

"No, I guess not, but—"

"We wouldn't. Bells, the spleen keeps the blood virus free and everything, right? And it also filters red and white blood cells, and stores platelets. It also stores the emergency blood supply that automatically gets sent out through a humans system if they lose a lot of blood, right?"

I nod reluctantly. "Yeah, but—"

"So what if the venom in our system also destroyed something it didn't think we'd need? Like, vampires don't get sick or diseases—but we do. And vampires don't bleed, so they don't need platelets to clot. And if Cassandra was short on blood, her heart would go frantic—and she would go into cardiac arrest."

I sigh, giving up. "So . . . Cassie's body is practically killing itself?"

Leo makes a face, but nods. "Yeah, pretty much. But the thing I'm really worrying about now is, will this happen to all of us?"

I bite my lip. Emerson looks so worried and freaked out—he's probably worrying about everyone but himself. He wraps an arm around my waste.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Carlisle says. "the only reason why Cassandra reacted like this was because she had not been feeding, correct?" We all nod. "Then, so long as you all feed, nothing should happen."

"I guess . . ." I whisper. Leo squeezes my hand.

Carlisle's expression softens, and he adds, "You know that if something ever goes wrong, you can come and find me, right?" his voice has lost its formal tone, and he sounds honestly concerned.

"Uhh . .. yeah," I say, but glance and Leo and Em, remembering our plan to leave.

Carlilse nods, seeming satisfied. Then something beeps, and he pulls out his pager. He grins at us. "She's awake."

"WHOO!" Emerson shouts, jumping up and spinning me around. Leo looks so relieved, and I know that he was probably drowning in guilt. I wiggle out of Emerson's hold and walk over to Leonard, who's still sitting in his chair, and has buried his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees. I kneel down in front of him, and put my hands on his arms.

"She's okay, Leon. It's not your fault, and you know it." He looks up at me, and his eyes flash pink. He smiles.

* * *

When we get to Cassie's room, we all immediately crowd around her bed. Emerson and Leo launch for her hands, so I settle for walking around Leo and getting as close to her as possible. He wraps and arm around my shoulder.

"I hate hospitals," Cassie blurts out, and we all laugh.

"I'm pretty sure that anyone who had to spend the first four months of their life in a hospital would, like, be _programmed_ to hate hospitals," Emerson says, and Cass and I roll our eyes.

"So do you guys know what was wrong with me, exactly?" Cassie asks, and the happy atmosphere immediately becomes tense.

I glance around at the doctors in the room. "We'll talk about this later." Cassie nods.

I turn to Leo and Em. "I'm gonna go ask Dr. Cullen when she'll get discharged." They nod, and Leo gives me a squeeze before dropping his arm. I head back to Dr. Austin's office, and see Carlisle talking to our—_foster parents?! _I'm about to run back to Cassie's room when Mrs. Bray notices us.

"Maybelle!" She exclaims. My eyes are wide when I walk in that direction. I look at Carlisle, and he smiles apologetically.

"Hi," I say, through my teeth.

"We were _so worried_ when they called us about your sister!"

"I'm sure you were," I mutter dryly, under my breath. Then I say, louder, "Oh, yeah. It was _so scary._ Now, if I could talk to Dr. Cullen for a moment . . ." I push him to Dr. Austin's open door, knowing I would be in so much trouble when I got home. "When will Cass be discharged?" I ask him, the second the door shuts.

"We need to monitor her tonight, to make sure she doesn't react badly to the new blood in her system."

"Yeah, but she needs to hunt!" I say.

"I agree, she does need to hunt, but there is no way I could get them to let a fifteen year old who just went into _cardiac arrest _be discharged less than three hours after the incident!"

"Gah!" I throw myself into the chair, and wrap my arms around my knees. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and look up to see Carlisle's face looming over mine.

"You know, everything will be okay . . . in the end," he whispers.

I bite my lip, my eyes clouding with tears, and nod. And then I do something completely unlike me: I launch myself into Carlisle's arms, crying my eyes out. He just holds me tighter, in a paternal way.

Once my tears, which had been coming out in torrents, slow, I sniffle and whisper, my voice cracking, "It's just . . . it's not fair."

"I know, it's not fair at all."

"No . . . but I mean, nothing's ever gone right for us." I pull away. "You wouldn't understand." I head towards the door. "Sorry about that." I put my hand on the knob, and wipe my eyes with the other. "And thanks. For helping Cassie. For . . . helping me."

And with that, I twist open the knob, and step into the hall. Into the bustle of someone else's life, the life I've been forced into.

**FINALLY! I've actually got a chapter done! WHOOOP! Its not super long, but its still a chapter. And I actually got an idea for what I want to happen . . . there are a few hints in this chapter. Tell me if you've noticed any of them.**

**I think that's it . . . yeah.**

**Now all you've got to do . . . **

**. . . is REVIEW!!!!!!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Okay, so for some reason it kept on saying that you guys had already reviewed the last chapter, and that seriously bugs me . . . but oh well.**

**Here's a really short one, but I just finished this, and I thought I might as well publish it.**

**DISCLAIMER:I may not own twilight. . . but neither do you! Boo-hooo:(**

**On with the chapter . . .**

* * *

**EPOV (EMERSON)**

When Bells comes back from talking to Dr. Cullen, her eyes are red-rimmed and she looks exhausted.

"What's the verdict?" Leo asks, not looking up from Cassie.

Belle's eye brows pull together, like she's not sure what he's talking about, then she rubs her eyes and slips into one of the plastic chairs in the back corner of the room. "She ha—" her voice cracks, and she clears her throat. "She has to stay overnight."

"What?!" Cassie shouts, and her heart monitor speeds up for a second.

"That's not fair!" Leo yells, squeezing Cassie's hand as her heart beat returns to our norm.

Bells leans her head back against the wall, and rubs her eyes, sniffling. "Life's not fair," she mumbles, and her eyes close. Her hair turns silver, and her skin tints blue. She exhales, and her colors go back to normal. "The Bray's are outside."

"Great," I say. "You okay, Bells?"

"I'm fantastic," she says, her voice stronger than before. She opens her eyes and stares at me through unnaturally red eyes. "Don't I look fantastic? Because I feel _fantastic_." Then the red fades to blue, and her eyes get all glassy. She sniffles and puts her index fingers under her eyes, catching her tears before they can find their way down her cheeks. "When can we leave?" she asks, her voice weak and cracking.

"What do you mean, when are we leaving? Cassie—"

"That's not what I meant," she interrupts Leo, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes, breathing slowly.

"Than wha—"

"When are we leaving _here_?" she shouts, jumping out of her chair and standing in front of Leo, her eyes blazing red and orange, and her hair turning red. "I don't _want _to be here! I want to—" She drops her hands from where they are on Leo's shoulders. "I want it to stop," she whispers, her hair turning back to normal and her eyes a sparkling gray.

"What?" Leo asks. "What do you want to stop?"

"Everything," Belle and Cassie whisper at the same time. They both meet oneanother's gazes, and Maybelle's tears spill over. She nods, very subtly, but still a nod, and Cassie frowns, but nods as well. They send fleeting gazes in both of our directions, but then, with two resounding _CRACK_s, they're both gone, and there's no way for us to go after them.

**MPOV (Maybelle)**

The sound of waves crashing is the first thing I hear, and the cool splash of sea spray is the first thing I feel. And when I peel back my eyelids, the sight I see makes my stomach churn.

My back is against a sheer cliff face, and my toes are caressing the edge of a rock. Huge waves crash below me, each with white caps that cut through each other.

"BELLE!" I hear Cassie's voice call, and look above me. She's about thirty feet up, and is leaning over the edge of the cliff. I can hear the soft sound of some one singing, the sad tones ringing in my ears.

"_Take what you need while there's time. The city will be earth in a short while. If I'm not mistaken it's been in flames . . .You and I will escape to the seaside._" The voice is that of a young girl, roaming the beach about twenty feet to my right, and about thirty feet below me._ "There is a storm in the distance. The wind breathing warning of its imminence. There is a lighthouse five hundred yards down, you and I will be safe there._" She's wearing a thin white dress, and the spray from the water is drenching her._ "There is a girl who haunts that lighthouse. She saved me, I was swimming, so young I almost drowned. Under the water she sang a story of losing her lover." _The girl's hums are nearly loud enough to drown the sounds of the crashing waves, and they bounce off of the sheer cliff face, her cool voice causing a cold finger to run down my spine and gooseflesh to spread across my skin. "_She calls a warning, 'Love, you are foolish, you're tired, your sleeplessness makes you a liar. The city is burning, the ocean is turning. Our only chance is the lighthouse._"

I look up towards Cassie, but she's not there. I frantically turn back to the girl below me, and I see Cassie standing next to her. She points up at me, and the girl looks up. She nods, and makes some hand gestures.

I sigh. This is ridiculous. I look down at the water, and concentrate on the rhythm of it's turning, and try to concentrate on pushing it the other way. When it starts to recede from the edge of the cliff, I find myself leaning over. There is tons of seaweed below, barely enough to protect me from the sharp edges of the rocks under it, but I decide to take my chances.

I take a deep breath, bend my knees . . . and launch myself of the edge of the cliff.

* * *

**BAM! Weird, right, but it came to me . . . so I wrote it down. By the way, the song is part of _The Lighthouse _by the Hush Sound. Super intense song. **

**So . . . who's the girl???**

**You'll find out next chapter!**

**REVIEW!!!!**


	18. Chapter 17

**MPOV (Maybelle) **

But, rather than my feet coming in contact with something, its my arms and legs. I snap my eyes open to find myself staring into the golden eyes of a pale-skinned—_vampire_?

She flashes a smile and sets me down. Standing up, I'm about one inch shorter than her. I eye her suspiciously. Cassie laughs at my expression. "Belle! Why didn't you just tellie?" she asks.

"Gah!" I throw myself onto my back, in the sand. "I don't know. I just panicked."

"Yeah, well, Em and Leon probably want to kill us."

"They always want to kill us." I chance a glance in the vampire's direction. She's smiling slightly, fondly. "Who are _you_?"

Her gold eyes flash to mine. "Alice Cullen."

"Oh you've _got _to be kidding me," I groan. "_Another _Cullen?"

Cassie plops down next to me and pats my hand. "'She's also a psychic."

Alice nods enthusiastically. "That's why I'm here. I saw you getting stuck up there and ran here after class was dismissed 'cause of your . . . medical issue."

I cant help but laugh. "School got out _early_? On the first day?" Alice nods. "_Sick_."

"So," Cassie says. "Ready to get this show on the road?"

I stand up and brush off my hands on my wet jeans, which really does no good. "God. I feel so gross."

"Yeah. Me—" Cassie cuts herself. "Oh god. Look." She tilts her chin subtly in the direction of a cluster of shirtless guys way down on the beach.

"Oh, wow."

"No. Do you smell that?"

I wrinkle my nose. "No, not re—"

Alice hisses. "Werewolf!"

"Wait—what?" I turn to look at her.

"Werewolf! Run!"

_Ah, crap. My aunt is not only a psychic, but a _psycho_. _

"Alice . . . there're no such _thing _as werewolves," I say, measuring her panicked, disgusted expression. She can't be serious.

"Yes, there is! And they're headed our way!" She grabs my wrist, pulling. Even though she's obviously stronger than me, I manage to get out of her grip.

I don't know about _werewolves, _but there are _people _coming our way. Hot, hot, _hot_, half-naked, teenage boys.

"God, they smell _terrible_!" Cassie exclaims, wrinkling her nose.

Alice steps out in front of us, towards the cluster of boys. There are five in all, none wearing shirts.

"Alice Cullen?" one of the tallest, most muscular boys step forward. "What're you doing here? Treaty, remember? You're so lucky Sam's not on dut—ah, shit." He sniffs the air, and turns to look at us through the light drizzle. "Who the hell are you? No, _what _the hell are you?"

"Dhampir," Cassie says. A look of confusion passes everyone's expressions.

"Our dad's a vampire, and our mom's a human," I explain.

"Wait, but that's not—" one of the other boys cut him off.

"Yeah it is," he says. He's smaller, with dark hair and tan skin.

"Colin's right," another boy calls out. "Think about Bella."

All the boy's wince collectively at the sound of our mother's name.

"You guys knew our mom?" I cut in, my voice a whisper.

"No way—you're not—" one of the boys start.

"—but look, look at that one!" Colin interrupts, pointing at me.

"Yeah—"

"GUYS!" I shout, and their chatter abruptly cuts off. "Can you shut up for a second?" They all stare at me, expressions impassive. "So my sister, Cassie, and I, Belle, are here to see Charlie. Charlie Swan, our grandfat—"

"Charlie's dead," the tallest one, the one who'd spoken first, says softly, gently. "He killed himself, five years ago."

I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, stopping the tears before they can even form. When I peel back my lids, I know my eyes aren't green. They're a cold, hard black. I need to run. I need to get away.

But Cassie grips my arm before I can.

"Do you have any idea who our father is?" Cassie asks.

"Of course," the tallest boy scoffs. "He's Ed—"

"My brother," Alice interrupts. "My brother, Edward."

Cassie turns sharply to look at Alice, and, as a result, pulling my armsharply. I wince. No one seems to notice.

"_Your brother?_" she snarls.

Everyone, even Alice, the vampire, cringes as her eyes turn a sharp ice blue. Her grip on my arm tightens, and grows colder than ice. I try to pull my arm free, but she won't give. "Cassie!" I cry, pulling harder. I feel as if my arm will break. "Cassie, let go!" I feel my eyes switch back to normal with a sting, as my eyes fill with tears. Gathering all my remaining strength, I locate Leon's element and shut my eyes as my arm glows red, just under Cassie's hand. Her grip loosens, and I manage to pull free. I collapse on the ground, to the sound of frantic calls and wild, animal-like snarls.

**QuilPOV**

I watch as Belle's upper arm glows red under the other's ice-blue grip. Belle's eyes slip shut as she pulls her arm out of her sister's grip. She falls to the ground, and the other, Cassie, the one who _hurt _her in the first place, reaches out.

Before I can stop myself, I snarl and push her out of the way, reaching for Belle. Alice growls at me, while Cassie shouts frantically for her unconscious sister. But, before anyone can get a good grip on me, I'm tearing through the woods, the young girl in my arms. I run to the closest house, the Clearwater's, and bang on the door. Seth pulls it open, a surprised look on his face. "Quil? What are you—" I push him out of the way, and step into the house, locking the door. I lay Belle on the couch, and lay my hand across her forehead. Fuck! She's even hotter than me!

"Shit! Seth! You got a thermometer?"

"Uh—yeah—" he cuts himself off, and darts up the stairs, stumbling down just moments later with one of those high-tech thermometers that you run across your forehead. I do so, and when it comes up with a number, I feel like I've been punched in the gut.

It's 138 degrees.

* * *

**AH! Don't kill me!**

**I know I haven't updated in forever, and this is a total cliff ending, and a crappy chapter . . . but it'll get better.**

**Promise.**

_**Disclaimer because i didnt put it before: I don't own twilight. Never have, never will. **_

**Now you review.**


	19. Chapter 18

**The beginning may be a tad boring . . . but I'm thinking you'll love the end!**

**_________________**

**Chapter 18**

**QPOV (quil still)**

"Holy—fuck, Seth, get me a wet towel or something!"

I carefully pull up the corner of her large sweatshirt—making sure she's got something on under. I gently peel the jacket off, to reveal a dark purple shirt with the words 'IN MY OPINION, EVERYTHING TOO STUPID TO BE SAID SHOULD BE SUNG' written across in large, capital, teal blue letters.

Seth rushes back then, wet cloth in hand. I hurry to place it on her for head, and watch as she shivers. "Get me some—I don't know. Advil! Get me Advil!"

"Quil, will you tell me what's—"

"ADVIL!"

"Okay! I'm getting Advil!"

**SPOV (seth)**

I come back with two Advil pills, and Quil stares at me. "How am I supposed to get her to swallow this?!" he yells, his hands shaking. He seems to be yelling at himself.

I throw a glance at the girl, and am surprised to see her eyes are open. They're unfocused, a bright shade of emerald green. And the moment I look into them, I know I'm a goner.

All of the things I'd been worrying about before—Jacob still being missing, Billy getting sick, Charlie's suicide, Sam's daughter Lizzie going wolf, Leah not talking to her imprint . . . all gone.

Nothing but this girl, right here, lying on the couch in my living room.

And I don't even know her name.

**QPOV**

Oh, no. I know that look.

I nudge Seth, and he reluctantly pulls his eyes away from Belle.

"Pill me," Belle says weakly, cracking a smile. I hand her the pills, and a glass of water. She downs it in a second.

"You know," I say, nervously, "You've got a 138 fever, and—"

"Don't worry about it," she tells me, leaning back on the couch and shutting her eyes.

"A 138 fever?!" Seth exclaims. He looks like he's about to have a full-fledged panic attack.

"Don't worry about it," Belle repeats, turning her head to the side, so she can look at us. "It's happened before. I get, like, overheated." I eye her suspiciously. "Not like the human type of overheated," she explains. "More like a computer. How when you leave it plugged in for too long, work it too hard, it gets so hot it can burn you." She sighs over-dramatically. "I guess it was pretty stupid, trying to burn Cassie off of me. And I used _Leon_'s power, and he's like hundreds of miles away, so . . . yeah, pretty stupid of me."

Seth and I are slack jawed, staring at her.

"By the way," Belle continues, smiling slightly. "I still don't know your name."

"Oh, crap," I say. "I'm Quil, and this is Seth. We're the native—"

"Werewolves?" she interrupts, grinning tiredly. "So bizarre. But, I guess if _i _can exist, you guys can too." Her eyes slip shut. "Now, if you don't mind," she speaks softly, drowsily. "I'm going to go back to sleep."

**SPOV **

I swear, if Quil would have let me, I would've sat there and watched her for _hours. _But, _no_, I've got to go have "the talk". So now we're sitting in the kitchen. And we're not even _talking._

"So . . ." I say, cutting through the uncomfortably silent atmosphere.

"So." Quil looks at me, studies my expression. "You imprinted."

"Yeah," I say, staring out into the living room. "I imprinted."

Quil arches an eyebrow. "On Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's daughter?"

"What?" I look at him, eyes wide. "That's—that's _her_?"

Quil nods. "One of them. I don't know what her full name is, but she told us to call her Belle."

Belle. _Beautiful. _

We're both quiet for a moment.

"What is she, exactly?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Not sure. They called themselves a 'dhampir' or something. She's half and half—half vampire, half human."

"She doesn't smell like them," I say. Quil nods, and goes to the fridge. Grabs a carton of milk, and chugs it. "Oh, thanks. That's great, Quil."

"Mmm."

"Ah, god," I groan. Quil's phone rings then and he sets the carton down, wiping his lip. Pulling it open, he grins at me. _Claire._

"Hey, Clary," he says into the phone.

_Hey! _I hear her reply. _What's going on? Brady texted me in class. Something about the Cullens? _**(if your wondering, Claire's 17 now--a senior) **

**"**Yeah." Quil runs his fingers through his hair. "Alice, the small one, was here. With her two nieces."

_Nieces?_

"Mmm-hmm. Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's daughters."

_Oh. _A pause. Shuffling. _I thought there were four._

"There are," Quil says. "No info on the other two yet."

_Kay. Keep me posted. _Pause. _I gotta go back to class. _Laugh. _I'm hiding in the bathroom. _

Quil laughs too. "All right, Clary. Love you."

_Love you too! Bye! _Click.

"Alice was here?" I ask, surprise coloring my tone. "On Quileute land?"

Quil sighs. Nods. "We don't have the full story, though." He gestures in the direction of Belle. "We'll ask her when she wakes up."

"Does Sam know?" I glance worriedly at the couch, where Belle's sleeping.

"No. He's with Lizzie." Quil tosses the now-empty carton in the trash. "But you know he'll find out eventually."

"You don't think he'll—" the words catch in my throat. "I mean, he won't hurt her, will he?"

Quil snorts. "After you imprinted on her? No way. But Cullen and the other one—I'm not sure."

I exhale. "I guess you're right." I stand up. "Quil? Can you watch her for a little bit? I need to go for a run. Call for everyone else, and let them know what happened. Tell them to stay away."

"Sure."

"Thanks!"

"No problem!" he calls after me, as I clomp up the stairs. Knock on my sister's door.

"Leah! Pack meeting!"

I hear her groan on the other side of the door. "Fine. I'm going out the window."

I roll my eyes. "See you outside!" I dart back down the stairs, and out the door. Hiding behind the closest cluster of trees, I pull of my cutoffs and tie them around my ankle before changing, feeling my spine lengthen and fur erupt all over my body.

_Hey Seth! _I hear Collin call in my mind.

_Seth, man, where were you today? _Jared says.

_Yeah, where were you? _Embry echoes.

I snarl, shutting them all up. _Pack meeting. Now. Meet at the woods near Quillayute. _

Their minds all resound with agreement. I head in the direction of Quillayute, the river near La Push. When I get there, Embry and Brady are waiting, and I can hear the heavy footfalls of Leah, Collin, Jared, Paul, (**the next werewolves are mine—in breaking dawn, they mention 7 other werewolves, but never give names. This story takes place fifteen years after new moon, so I think that it's ok to put them in now)** Matt, Cam, Mason, Taylor, Kyle, Kayvon, and Mitch in all directions. I sit myself in the middle of the small clearing, letting everyone else file in.

_What's going on? _Kayvon asks. _I was with Mckenna and the baby. _Kayvon was thirteen when he first changed, ten years ago. He imprinted the year before last. Mckenna, his imprint, had a baby boy three months ago. They named him Max.

_Yeah, _Leah says. _I was avoiding Kyle!_

_Hey! _Kyle exclaims. _All I did was say I wanted—_

_To have _kids_? How do we even know if they'll be _human—

_STOP! _I shout. They stop. I let out a breath through my nose, and shuffle my large paws in the dirt. _Most of you were there today, at the beach. With Alice Cullen and the two dhampir._

_Yeah, so? _Taylor cuts in.

Ignoring him, I continue, _I imprinted on one of the dhampir this afternoon, and I wanted to warn you—_no one, _and_ _I mean _no one, _lays a hand on either of them, got that? _

_But they're _crazy_! _Paul interrupts.

_Yeah! _Brady agrees.

_And they're part _vampire_! _Mason adds.

_GUYS! _I shout. _I WOULDN'T GIVE A _FUCK _IF THEY WERE PART _BIRD_! SHE'S STILL MY IMPRINT. SO STAY. THE FUCK. _AWAY_! _

_Seth! _Leah says. _You need to calm down. C'mon. let's go home. _

I shuffle my feet again. _No. Not till I get word from _everyone _that they _understand. _Now. _Bark _if you understand. _

Collin barks.

Kyle Barks.

Paul barks.

Cam barks.

Taylor barks.

Kayvon barks.

Brady barks.

Embry barks.

Matt barks.

Mitch barks.

Jared barks.

Mason barks.

I look at Leah. She barks.

_Good. _

Kayvon yips. _Can I go now? _

**JPOV (jake)**

Who knew it would take this long to get back home from Ketchikan?

I've been running for five hours straight, and I _just _passed the border. The minute I caught smell of the Cullen running in the direction of Washington, I followed.

I couldn't let them get away with anything, not at home.

**EPOV**

Unbelievable.

They convince me to stay, then leave me home _alone. _It's truly unbelievable. Yet, I cannot deny the amusement of the situation.

Alice seems to have disappeared, Carlisle is on call at the hospital, Jasper, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett are out hunting, and _I _am home alone.

Misery.

I sit down at the piano in the foyer, knowing that, although there is no way I will be playing, I can always take comfort in the many memories I have of my Bella and I involving this same instrument. As incredibly odd as it may be, I have miraculously managed to refrain from A) throwing myself into a pit of fire B) boarding a plane to Italy C) visiting Bella's grave in Washington, and digging a hole for myself nearby, and, my personal favorite, D) ripping out my internal organs.

Yes, very pleasant. Very pleasant indeed.

I rest my head in my hands, inhaling deeply. The house phone rings. I don't answer it, but let it go to voicemail. Carlisle's voice rings out from the voicemail machine, echoing through the silent house. "Edward, it's Carlisle. I know you're home. Please meet me at the Ketchikan hospital, at the emergency entrance. We have some very important matters that must be discussed." I sigh, and push myself up from the bench, away from the piano, and out the door. I run to the hospital quickly, going around until I reach the Emergency entrance. As promised, Carlisle is waiting for me, but what I see is the most unusual of sights—he is fiddling with his hands, his expression uncomfortable. He grips my arm the moment I reach him, gold eyes burning.

He is silent, pulling me through the large glass emergency doors, down the long, sterile hallways. We stop at an office with the name _Dr. James Austin _inscribed on the door. Carlisle pulls me inside, locking the door behind us. He pushes me into the seat opposite his, and fiddles with the buttons on his shirt. Drops his hands on the desk, expression serious.

"Carlisle," I start, and hold up a hand when he makes move to interrupt. "The last time you called me to talk to you about something important, it was about the love of my _eternity _having passed." I stare at him, expression harsh. "If it is something of that extent this time as well, please feel free to warn me now."

Carlisle studies me from across the desk, his expression pained. "This is very important, Edward. I will not 'sugar-coat' it. But it's not a _bad _thing." He pauses, looking at his hands before glancing up at me. "At least I _hope _you do not see this as a bad thing." He leans forward. "If you recall, I never _did _tell you the cause of Bella's death."

"Yes," I say, stiffly. "I recall."

"Well . . . Edward, I suppose this may be difficult to understand, but she died in childbirth."

"_Childbirth_?"

"Yes, childbirth. And, now, before you jump to conclusions—yes, the children are yours."

"_Mine? _But—but I'm—and she's—_children_?"

"Yes, Edward. They are yours. And, yes. Children. Bella gave birth to quadruplets."

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	20. Chapter 19

**AHHHHHH! I feel awful about not posting for so long . . . and I thought I posted this . . . but I feel horrible now that I know that I didn't . . . D:**

**IM SO SORRY!!! But . . . here it is!**

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**CPOV**

I've never, in all my years, seen a vampire go into shock. But, looking at Edward, I suppose this is what it would have been like. He has frozen, his gaze locked on mine, jaw slack. He revives himself, and immediately launches into unreasonable conversation. "Vampires cannot reproduce! And—Bella died in _childbirth_," he laughs in a mad way. "How ridiculous!"

Wordlessly, I push the Swan children's file across the table. Edward's eyes fall upon it, and, with slightly—as odd as this may be—trembling hands, he lifts them from the desk. His eyes go wide in awe as he flips through the many pages, devouring as much as he can. When he's about halfway through, his eyes grow dark, his expression grim, and I know he must have reached Cassandra's suicide attempt. I gently touch his arm, warning him, then retrieve the papers before he can read further.

"Come with me for a walk," I say, standing up. Edward follows, and soon we find ourselves outside of the hospital. Edward collapses into a bench, looking up at the gloomy gray sky. I watch as he buries his head in his hands. His hands clench tightly on his skull, in his hair.

"She was twelve," he whispers brokenly. "My daughter—_my daughter_—tried to kill herself when she was twelve years old. My son nearly died from heart failure at age two." I sit down next to him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. To my surprise, he turns to look at me. "You've seen them. Talked to them. What are they like?"

Knowing there is no use in lying to him, when he can _hear _right through me, quite literally, I exhale heavily. "Quite amazing, really. Cassandra—she's very depressed, that is unbearably clear. But Maybelle acts as if nothing affects her, although it clearly does. Leonard and Emerson both are fantastic brothers," I pause, studying Edward's pained expression. "Paternal behavior, almost. They seem to have . . . taken your place as the fatherly roles, Leonard with Cassandra and Emerson with Maybelle. But, something you can easily derive from a short conversation is their craving for adult care-takers, the need to find a new home the moment something goes awry."

Edward looks entirely depressed by my short speech, and I cannot help but wish I do not need to deliver the news of his two daughter's disappearances. But, before I can say something, the phone in my pocket begins to ring.

**APOV (alice)**

Pick up, pick up!

"Yes, Alice?" Carlisle's voice startles me from my mindless pleading.

"Er . . . I've found them?"

"Really? You have? That's fabulous news, Alice!"

"Uh . . . huh." I glance over at Cassandra, who's eyes are wide as she listens to our conversation.

"There's something you're not telling me."

"Um. Yes?" I hold up my hands in the air, a question in my eyes. Cassandra shrugs. "We seem to have lost Maybelle."

"_What_? You lost my granddaughter?!" I hear another voice in the background. _She lost—what? Carlisle, tell me what's going on!_

"Edward?!" I shout into the phone.

"You lost my daughter?!" Edward shouts back, sounding absolutely furious.

"Erm . . . not exactly. I didn't really _lose _her. The werewolves just seem to have . . . _found _her."

"Werewolves!" His voice is panicked, angry. "Mary-Alice Marie Brandon! What exactly has happened?"

"Well, after Cassandra went into cardiac arrest—"

"_Cardiac arrest_?!"

"—I had this vision of her and Maybelle teleporting to Washington, and Maybelle getting stuck on the side of the cliff in La Pu—"

"_What_?!"

"_In La Push_," I repeat, ignoring him, "so I ran down here as quick as I could. After I saved her, yada yada yada, the werewolves found us and then Cassie totally lost it and used her creepy power on Maybelle. Maybelle totally flipped and used Leon's fire power thing to get Cassie to let go, but I guess it wore her out so she was going to collapse, but one of the werewolves thought we were going to hurt her, because Cassie kind of did, and grabbed her before she could hit the ground. Then he took off running, and I had to get off of the Quileute land, so Cassie and I left. Now we're stuck at the border, and I can't see Maybelle because she's with werewolves . . . it's just a disaster, Edward!"

Silence. Then, "You're at the border?"

"Yeah."

"How long did it take you to run?"

"Four hours."

"Four _hours_?!" he shouts. "Anything could happen in four hours!"

Cassie holds out her hand for the phone then, and I happily comply.

"Edward?" she says into the phone, softly. "I'ts . . . it's Cassie. Your other daughter."

"Cassie," he breathes, astonished.

"Where are you? I'll come and get you."

"Get me? What—"

"I can teleport. Where are you?" She speaks in a no-nonsense tone so similar to Edward's that I can't help but laugh. She glares at me.

"I'm in front of the hospital, with Car—"

"I'll be there in a second." She snaps the phone shut, and tosses it at me. "I'll be right back."

"You sure you know what you're doing?"

She rolls her eyes at me. "Yeah. I'm sure."

_CRACK!_

**CPOV (Cassandra)**

When I peel my eyes open, just a second later, I'm standing at the emergency entrance of the hospital. I walk around till I reach the front, and when my eyes lay on him—my father, my dad, the man I've been waiting to meet my entire life, I feel as if I've been hit by a ton of bricks. He's looking around frantically, probably for me. Even from here, I can see the similarities between us and him. He looks almost exactly like Leon, but with gold eyes, and Maybelle and Emerson's bronze hair. Carlisle is sitting at a bench nearby, rubbing his temples and muttering something under his breath.

Then my father's eyes meet mine, and he seems to stop breathing. Time seems to stop moving in that moment. Then I'm walking, running almost, in his direction. I collapse into his chest, and his cold, cold arms encircle my waist. I grip even tighter around his neck as he buries his nose in my hair, kisses the top of my head, my nose, my cheeks. Then tears are splashing down my face, but, for the first time, they're happy tears. And he's gripping me tighter, whispering how he's sorry, how he's so sorry he didn't know sooner, so sorry he hasn't been here.

And then I'm telling him how I forgive him, how I've wanted to meet him my entire life. And then Carlisle's coming up behind me, and tapping my shoulder. "Cassandra, honey, you should probably call your brothers."

"Oh, no!" I reluctantly pull away from my dad, but he wraps his arms around my shoulders, placing his chin on the top of my head. "Are they totally freaking out?"

Carlisle doesn't answer for a moment. "A bit?"

"Oh, god! Leon's going to kill me . . ."

"Yes I am." I look behind Carlise, and there he is, Emerson running up behind him. Emerson drops his hands to his knees, breathing deeply. I laugh, and Leon's serious expression immediately drops to one of relief, but the sight of his glassy eyes dampers my good mood. I grab dad's hand on my shoulder, and squeeze before pulling out of his hold and running to my brother. He holds me even tighter than dad had.

"Are you okay? Did anything happen? Where did you—?"

"Where's Maybelle?" Emerson interrupts, and I look over Leon's shoulder at his worried expression. I bite my lip nervously.

"Werewolves?"

"Werewolves," he repeats, sounding annoyed. "Cass, you've always sucked at lying, but that was pathetic."

"No, it's true! Right, dad—Edward?" I look at my father, who seems to be in shock, staring at my two brothers—his two sons. They stare back, seeming to have just noticed him.

"Dad?" Emerson repeats, sounding confused.

Edward remains silent, slack-jawed.

"I think he's shocked that he could produce such an ugly child," I tell Emerson. He, as childish as it is, sticks his tongue out at me.

"No, Cassandra," Edward speaks, drawing our attention back to him. "I'm shocked I could produce any children at all."

"Yeah, well . . . we're yours. And Alice is waiting for us to go back and help find Maybelle, your _other _daughter, so, you know, you might want to do that."

Emerson rolls his eyes at my choice of words, and I whack his arm. I guess that no matter how much things change, some things will always stay the same.

**MPOV**

This time, when I wake up, I'm alone. My head's spinning, and my stomach's churning, but I manage to sit up. "Over here," Quil calls from behind me. I turn around to see him sitting down at the kitchen counter. "Seth went to call a pack meeting."

"Pack? How many of you are there?"

"About sixteen," he answers. "But the numbers are always growing. They stopped after your dad and his family left."

"What do you mean 'left'?"

"Your dad, Edward, left your mom, Bella, before she found out she was pregnant with you and your siblings."

"But—why?"

Quil purses his lips, and stands up, coming to sit next to me on the couch. I lay back down. "I don't know if I've got this right—I didn't hear it first hand—but, supposedly, he left to protect her." He must have seen my confused expression, because he continued. "What you don't seem to get, is that not all vampires are good. They kill for fun, and pleasure. The Cullens are "vegetarian" vampires. In other words, they only hunt animals. But they're the minority. And . . . as horrible as this sounds, I can see why he left her." He falters slightly, gripping his hands together tightly. "I know what it's like to feel like the person you love is in danger." A phone starts to ring then, in the kitchen, and he jumps up. "Speak of the devil," he mutters. "Hi, Clary." I peer over the couch. He flinches slightly, like the person's talking loudly. Still not loud enough for me to hear, though. His eyebrows rise. "Oh? And who did you hear this from?" Pause. "Ah." Another pause. "You need a ride?" Pause again, as she responds. "Okay. Just call me if she's not there in the next twenty minutes." Pause. "Yeah. I love you, too. Bye."

The door crashes open then, and a tall, dark haired, olive-toned girl walks through the door, arguing with a muscular, beachy-looking guy with blonde hair. The girl has nothing but a bra and shorts on, and the guy is shirtless, just wearing sweats.

". . . don't _want _to make anyone else go through this," the girl says, trudging into the house, not even looking in my direction.

"I know, Leah. Trust me, I get that. But how do you know—"

"Kyle!" Leah interrupts. "Sam's daughter is changing—it's not skipping generations anymore." She pauses. "It's the stupid Cullen's fault," she mutters.

"You can't blame them. They left fifteen years ago."

My ears have perk, knowing they're talking about my dad and his family.

The girl, Leah, heaves this dramatic sigh and stomps past the couch, into the kitchen. "Oh, hi Quil," she says, lightly. I hear the sound of the fridge opening and closing, then someone pouring something. "Kyle, even if we're not blaming them, any kids we have are going to be werewolves, because both of us are."

"Leah," the boy says, in a somewhat reasonable tone. "We can't let the gene stop us from having a family. Plus, the whole point of imprint—"

Quil clears his throat, cutting Kyle off. I hear his heavy footfalls as he walks in my direction. Gently, he pulls me up off the couch so I'm leaning against him.

Leah and Kyle look at me curiously. I wave awkwardly. "Hi?"

"Hi," Leah says. "I'm Seth's sister, Leah. This is my husband, Kyle."

Whoa. _Husband_? They don't look a day older than eighteen.

I purse my lips. "I'm Maybelle."

Leah's eyes widen considerably, and nudges Kyle. "That's her!" she whispers excitedly, probably thinking I can't hear her. "Seth's imprint!" Kyle's expression changes at this, and he looks back up at me, shock in his eyes.

My eyes narrow, looking at the two of them. I quickly straighten my expression, not wanting them to figure out I had heard.

"Nice to meet you, Maybelle," Leah says, before grasping Kyle's hand in hers and darting for the stairs.

It's not for a few minutes, when I hear a door shut above us, that I collapse back onto the couch and eye Quil suspiciously. "So. I'm Seth's imprint?"

**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I know, I'm terrible D:**

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	21. Chapter 20

**Okay, so I kinda-sorta took a while to update again, but im super sorry! And this chapter's like four thousand three hundred words (eleven pages!) so be happy **** !**

**Yay! Well, awesomeness—hope you like it!

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**

**Chapter 20**

**MPOV**

Quil shuffles his feet uncomfortably. "Ah . . . I really don't think—"

"Qu-_iiiiiiiil_," I say.

He sits down on the edge of the coffee table. "Maybelle, I really can't tell you about that."

"Can't or won't?" I counter.

He sighs, looking me straight in the eye. "_Can't_."

"Okay," I say. ". . . then who can?"

He exhales heavily, not quite a sigh, and, in that moment, he looks tens of years older. "Seth." And then his phone rings, and he's running for the kitchen.

"Hey!" he exclaims, the tired tone completely gone. "You need me to come get you?" Pause. "Yeah. No problem. I just need to . . . hold on, babe." He darts past me, and up the stairs. "LEAH!" he shouts. "Can you watch Maybelle for a little? I need to go pick up Claire at school!" I hear a bang, and then a door opens.

"Twenty minutes?" she says, in a warning tone.

"Okay, okay," he says.

"Kyle, I'm going to babysit the vampire!" I hear Leah shout. "Go back to the house! I'll be there in a little!" I hear a groan, and then Quil is running back down the stairs, donning a rain coat, Leah following after him.

I raise an eyebrow. "Babysit the vampire, huh?"

She rolls her eyes, and whacks Quil on the butt. "Don't do anything naughty," she teases, and he laughs. She throws herself down on the couch next to me, and he goes out through the front door.

"He's not going to be back in twenty minutes," Leah tells me."Can you hand me the remote?" I do so, and she flips on the TV, scrolling through the guide. Then she makes this fake-gagging noise, and points to the screen. I follow her gaze, but don't find anything wrong. "See that? _That _is why people think we're ravaging monsters!" Then I see it. She's on the movie channels, and one of them is playing some movie called _The Wolf Man. _She clicks on it, and tosses the remote to an armchair on her right. "Let's see how horrible this is."

* * *

**CassiePOV**

Let me tell you, double-teleporting isn't as bad as Leon seems to think. But _quadruple _teleporting? Now that's something I don't want to try.

"But we _need _to go!" Em whines. Leon nods beside him, his gray eyes stormy.

"Actually," I argue, "_I'm_ the only one who really needs to go."

Edward opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. "I know, I know. You're the dad, you're coming too, you think this'll redeem you somehow by saving your daughter from the _evil _werewolves, blah, blah, blah," I say, my tone clearly displaying my annoyance. "I get it." I turn to Leon and Em. "But _you _guys are not coming. No way. I haven't tried doing it with more than one—"

"So then make more than one trip!" Leon exclaims. "We. Are. Coming!"

"Ah," I groan, looking from Emerson to Leonard to Edward. "Fine. _Fine. _But you two are _both _running back."

"Okay, fine," Em says.

"Yeah," Leon agrees. "I can deal with that."

I take a deep breath. "Okay. So I'm starting with Edward . . . and Emerson. Leon, you're waiting here with Carlisle."

"Bu—"

"Nope." I turn to Em and Edward. "Okay, so take my arms . . . tightly. As hard as you—well, Em, as hard as you can." I look at my dad. "You . . . not so much."

He smiles crookedly, that same smile I see on Leon every day. "Of course." He takes my arm in his, and Emerson does the same.

"Okay. You guys ready?" Emerson nods, already looking nauseas. Edward even looks nervous.

I close my eyes, and picture it. _Washington . . . La Plush . . . the border._

And when I open them, I'm there. My head spins, and I stumble. Edward catches me, looking pained. "Are you hurt? Did something—"

"I'm—" I squeeze my eyes shut. When the throbbing pain behind my eyebrows lessens, I shiver. "I've never done it with more than one person before," I breathe. Edward tucks me into his side.

"Maybe you should wait a little bit before going back," he says, his breath cool on my face. I right myself, though, and pull back slightly.

"No . . ." I open my eyes. "I'm fine. We need to find Maybelle." I take a step backwards, but Edward still has my arm in a death grip. "I'll . . . I'll be right back." Edward looks unsure. "Really. I'm fine." He doesn't seem too keen on doing so, but he lets go of my arm, taking a step back.

"Be careful," he warns, his eyes dark with worry—and thirst.

I sigh. _CRACK!_

It takes a while to convince Carlisle that we won't be needing him—assuming that Maybelle is relatively unharmed—but I eventually get Leon back with me. Edward fusses over me for a few minutes, and I have to keep telling him that teleporting—with another person—usually tires me out, and that it was normal, I'd be fine once I started moving around.

And then we start heading into uncharted—to me, at least; Edward and Alice seemed pretty comfortable—territory: the Quileute woods.

Alice and Edward lead us back down to the beach, where all we dig around for any scent of the werewolves—and where all of us come up blank.

"Alice and I could head into town," Edward starts, looking nervous. "Emerson and Leonardo—will you watch Cassandra?"

"Hey," I warn. "I don't need baby-sitting." A look passes between Edward, Em, and Leon. "Honest! I don't!"

Em snorts, but otherwise ignores me, turning to Edward. "Yeah. We'll watch her."

Edward nods, and grabs Alice's arm, turning away. But then he freezes, and runs back to me. He pulls me to his chest and kisses my hair, before disappearing with a gust of wind.

* * *

**MPOV**

The movie is horrible. I've got to give Leah that much. But as for the whole werewolf thing? I haven't exactly become an expert within the past hour or so, so I don't really have too much to go by.

We're about halfway through _The Wolf Man _when I decide to ask where Seth is.

Leah looks startled by the question, but quickly composes herself. "I'm not sure, exactly . . ." She shrugs. "Just around, you know?"

I purse my lips. "Yeah."

Leah sighs. Sits up, and turns to face me, Indian style. "I know you want to know what's going on, Maybelle, but I really can't tell you."

"Not even a _hint?_"

Leah shakes her head. "Not even a hint."

"Fine. Can you at least tell me what's going on with you and whats-his-face?"

"Kyle?" I nod. She fiddles with her fingers, and, when I glance down, I notice it's a wedding ring she's fiddling with, not her fingers. "Well . . . we're married, you know, and have been for four years now." My curiousity peaks. She looked eighteen! Seventeen, even! "We don't age," she explains. "I've looked like this for fifteen years; I'm thirty three." I nod, letting her know I get it. "So Kyle wants kids. You know, I don't really blame him—and I want kids, too—but I don't know how we could make it work. I mean, we're both werewolves, so there's always the possibility of any kids we have not even being _human_—but even, like, outside of that, there's no way I'd force this on anyone else, especially my own kids. It seems so cruel; I've hated this whole thing so much, before I, erm, _met _Kyle, which just about makes this livable." Leah pauses, and leans her head back, letting it loll against the cushion. "We've been fighting about it for—" she cuts off, and shoots up from the couch.

"What—" I start, but Leah holds up a hand, darting towards the kitchen to look out the window. I stand up slowly. Leah lets out a low sound, almost a growl.

"Aw, crap!" she exclaims, whipping out her phone and dialing quickly. A phone starts to ring from somewhere upstairs. "Shit, shit, shit!" She dials another number. "Quil?" I move closer to hear the conversation better.

"Yeah? What's going on?_" _Quil seems startled.

"Something's out there!" she snaps.

"Like—"

"Like _vampire!_"

"Leah, we can't do anything—it might be that other one, or maybe one of the other Swan kids; Seth would murder—"

"_Where is Seth?_"

"I don't know!"

"Well, find him! Bring Claire to Emily's for all I care! Go look for Seth! I have to stay with the girl!"

Silence greets us on the other line. A deep breath. "Okay. I'll keep my phone on me; call if anything happens."

"Right." Leah snaps the phone shut, and then grabs the home phone from the counter, rapidly dialing another number, before doing the same on her cell, then pressing call at the same time.

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

And then—"Hello?"

And, on the other phone—"What, Leah?"

"Vampire. Outside. Right now."

"Our land?" one voice asks.

"Right now?" The other.

Steady breathing. Heavy footfalls. Running.

"Yes, now! I'm with the dhampir—find Seth. Now. Tell him to go back to the house."

"What?" one voice starts.

"Seth? He's right—"

A new voice cut's in then—_Seth's voice. _"Leah? What's going on?"

Leah looks really annoyed, closing her eyes tightly. "_There is a vampire outside. On our land. Right now. I'm with your dhampir—get here _now_, or I'm leaving._"

"I'm—"

"_I don't care. _Come now, or I'm gone." Leah hangs up. On both phones.

"You're not actually—" I start.

Leah rolls her eyes. "No way. Seth would kill me. That was the only way I'd actually get him to—" _Knock. _Leah looks smug. "—come here fast." _Knock, knock, knock. _Hard, fast. Loud. The door crashes open, and Seth storms in, shirtless. Leah laughs at his appearance—his hair is soaked, as with his only article of clothing; his shorts. "Hi, baby brother."

A low growl rumbles deep in his throat, but his eyes turn to me. "It's raining," he tells Leah, without looking away. "The trail's fading. It's definitely the Cullens, though." He wrinkles his nose. "I would know that smell anywhere."

"Is anyone--?"

Seth nods. "Brady, Cole, Quil, Jared, and Embry are going around. Sam's rounding everyone up at Emily's—Kenna, the baby, Lizzie, Claire, Kim; all the imprints, the kids, and the younger wolves."

Leah looks nervous but determined. "Kyle?"

Seth's brow creases. He turns to look at Leah. "Helping Sam, I think. You can go." Leah nods, touches my arm, and then makes a run for the door, her slight-yet-muscular frame shaking. Seth's eyes turn back to me, their deep brown shade darkened by worry and filled with some emotion I just couldn't put my finger on. He was cute; seventeen, I think, with a warm natural tan and funny black hair that was sticking up in every which direction (**I found this sketch of Seth online that I'm just in love with—look on my profile!). **His muscles were very there, but not disgustingly; he was tall and lanky, and his abs were pretty impressive. His faded jean cut-offs were folded over at the bottom and had that warm, well-worn look that made them look so soft.

"Maybelle?" he says softly. He holds out a callused hand, which I take, without hesitation, although I'm shocked by how warm he is. I don't fight when he starts gently pulling me up the stairs, before stopping me in front of a shut door. He holds up a finger, gives me a small smile, then slips into the room, before coming back out with a pair of boxers and an old faded red sweatshirt. He shrugs helplessly, giving me an adorable smile. "It's the best I can find." I glance down at my clothes, which consists of my unsalvageable skinny jeans and a gross looking tank top. I wonder where my t-shirt went, but I don't really care. I grimace, and eagerly accept the clothes. He holds open his door, and gestures for me to step inside. "I'll be right out here."

He shuts the door once I get inside, and I take a second to look around at his room. It's small, but well-lived in; CDs are stacked up on the shelves above his small desk, and a few surfing posters sit above his bed on the deep green walls. It has much more character than any of my rooms had ever been. There's a cluster of pictures on his dresser and taped to the wall behind it, and my eyes linger on the ones up front. The first is of a cluster of shirtless boys outside in the woods. I recognize Seth and Quil, and a few boys from the beach—then there's one that looks really familiar, but I can't place where I'd seen him. The next is of Seth and Leah, a cute picture of them in a kitchen with brightly colored cabinets, the two of them holding out cookie-batter coated hands wearing big grins. There are a few from what look to be weddings—the first of Seth and Leah, Seth in a tux, and Leah dressed in a gorgeous white dress; she looks absolutely stunning. The other three are of Seth with other people, everyone in tuxes, and each with a different girl in the white dress, picture perfect; the kinds of photos in ads, or the ones that come in the picture frames when you buy them. Another is of Seth with a little girl; Seth looks younger, his face rounder, the little girl grinning with her brown hair in pigtails, gaps where she's missing teeth.

Each picture signifies things I've never gotten to experience—_family. _The feeling of having _home. _The way Seth seems to belong in the picture completely stumps me; I've never had that. Not once.

I hurry to get changed, folding my own clothes messily into a pile. My bra and underwear are fine, thank god, and Seth's boxers are soft cotton—I'm assuming they're an older pair, because there's no way that they'd fit me if they fit him now. The sweatshirt's warm, and smells like camp fires and bug spray—that warm, woodsy smell that fits the aura that seems to follow Seth everywhere.

When I'm done, I slowly open the door; Seth's waiting just outside, like promised, and his serious frown disappears when he sees me wearing his clothes, standing in his doorway.

I shuffle my feet nervously. "Where should I put my dirty stuff?"

Seth frowns. "Um . . . here." He snatches it from my hand, and tosses it into a dirty clothes hamper behind his door. "You need shoes," he said. "Crap. I might have boots . . ." Seth disappears inside his bedroom, and comes back out carrying a pair of black rain boots, which he hands over to me, along with a pair of thick socks. I set them down and take a pony tail from my wrist, using it to tie my hair up in a messy bun on the top of my head. I pull the sleeves down over my hand, shivering. Seth looks worried. "You okay?"

"Uh . . .yeah." I take inventory; no aches, my headache's practically gone—I'm just kind of cold. "Fine."

Seth still looks kind of nervous, but shrugs it off, leading the way back down the staircase, and into their cozy living room. "I have to get you to Emily's . . ." his voice trails off, and he reaches for the phone that Leah tossed on the couch, dialing a number. I sit down on the floor and start getting the boots on.

"Hey, Em," he says, when whoever is on the line—Emily, I'm assuming—answers. "Yeah, I'm bring her right now . . . No, I'm not sure . . . Yeah, that's fine . . . I know . . . I'll fill you in when I get there, okay?" He takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Okay. Bye." He rubs his eyes for a second, before turning down to me. "You ready? I have to take you to one of the pack member's houses, in case something happens . . ." he trails off, his voice shaky. He clears his throat.

I jump up. "Yeah, I'm all set." I bury my hands into the pocket of the sweatshirt, and pull up the hood, taking a few back-ward steps toward the front door, eyes still on Seth. He smiles unwillingly, before meeting pace with me, then holding out a hand to stop me. He opens the door, and inhales deeply. Looking satisfied, he grabs my hand, and hurries me through the rain to a faded white truck sitting in the driveway. He boosts me up into the car, and my arms tingle at his touch through the jacket. He runs around to the driver's side, and starts the car the second he gets the door shut. We're speeding down the street moments later, and then he stops just a barely a minute later; he jumps out of the car and hurries to my side, opening my door and tucking me under his arm so he can block the rain until we reach the cover of the porch. He knocks on the door, which opens right afterward, almost like the person had been waiting for us to show up.

The girl who opened the door is pretty; her skin was a perfect russet shade, her black hair long and shiny. She had high cheek bones and broad lips paired with hazel eyes rimmed by dark, thick lashes. Seth embraces her warmly, and she smiles, revealing straight white teeth and a gorgeous smile. "Hey, Kimmy," Seth says. "Maybelle, this is Kim. Kim, this is Maybelle."

Kim gives me a halfhearted wave, and a little boy comes running straight for her, sliding on the wood floor, crashing into her legs. Kim laughs, and Seth does, too. The boy has tanned skin, and longish black hair; he looks about four. "This is my son, Christian," Kim tells me. "Christian, this is Maybelle."

Christian grins at me, before looking up at his mom. "Auntie Emily says I need to go night-night!"

Kim glances up at the clock on the wall. "Auntie Emily is right, bud," she tells him, picking him up and carrying him down the hall. "It's seven-thirty, Chris."

"No!"

"Yes! And maybe if you're a good boy and get to bed, Daddy will come and—" Kim disappears from view, and I can't hear her anymore. Seth gently lays a hand on my arm, nudging me in the direction of a large entryway off to the side. It turns out to lead to a kitchen, where three girls are, and a baby.

"Maybelle, this is Mckenna"—Seth points to a pretty girl who looks in her mid-twenties with light skin, rosy cheeks and dirty blonde hair, holding a sleeping baby boy—"that's Lizzie"—he points to a girl that looks thirteen or fourteen with a medium tan and wavy black hair—"and Claire"—the last girl looks around seventeen, and is absolutely gorgeous; it's obvious why Quil seemed so smitten with her. Her hair is long, brown, and wavy; her skin is lightly tanned, her eyelashes thick and dark; her bottom lip is slightly larger than her top; her cheeks are lightly flushed. I smile at them, and they smile back. "Guys, this is Maybelle. Where's Em, Kenna?"

"She's in the shower," Claire answers. "Chris got food in her hair."

Seth's lips twitch, like he's not sure whether he should smile or frown. But then he grows serious, and his eyebrows pucker. "I should be helping—"

. "Well, _I _hear you've got quite the lot of explaining to do." Mckenna's lips quirk up in the corners, adding some light to her gray eyes as she teases Seth.

Seth looks kind of panicked. Lizzie laughs. "Seth, get over yourself." Lizzie looks at me. "Seth's kind of a wimp. Just so you know, for future reference."

"Right," I say. "Thanks for the tip."

Lizzie winks at me before raising an eyebrow at Seth, who shrugs his shoulders uneasily. I roll my eyes at Lizzie, and tap my chin thoughtfully. "I think I get what you're talking about, Lizzie."

Her eyes sort of glaze over, but she nods. "Yep." She refocuses, and smiles. "I thought you would."

Seth squirms. "You hungry, Maybelle? 'Cause if you are, I'll get you something."

I purse my lips. Mckenna and Claire look amused. "Nah, I think I'm good." Seth's eyes are smiling. His lips twitch.

"Hm. Well, I'm hungry." He darts out of the room. The three girls laugh, and I crack a smile.

"He's going to—"

_Knock!_

We all turn in the direction of the door. "SETH! SETH, ARE YOU HERE?" It's Leah. We all let out a collective breath. Seth comes running back to the room immediately, and stands next to me nervously. He grabs my hand, and pulls me from the kitchen to the front door, where he pushes me behind him before tearing the door open.

"Seth!" Leah exclaims. She pears behind him. "Where's—" I step into view. Leah swallows. "Seth, it's the Cullens."

Seth's arms start to shake. "_Here?_"

Leah bites her lip. "Yeah. They're here for Maybelle."

A low growl builds in Seth's throat. "Which ones?"

"Edward, and the tiny girl. Alice, I think." Leah looks worried. "Are you—?"

"I'll . . ." Seth swallows. Takes a deep breath. The shaking stops. "I'll go talk to him. Will you—?"

"Yeah, Seth. No problem." She takes his hand. Squeezes.

I look between the two of them. "What am I missing here?"

Leah turns to me, dropping Seth's hand. "You're dad is here. And the vampire the rest of the pack saw at the beach with you and your sister."

"Alice? My _dad?_" My shock is clear in my voice.

Leah nods. "Yeah. Edward? He's here. Looking for you."

I swallow. "Did you tell them I was here?"

"No one's told them anything," Leah says. "The guys are holding them off. They can't do anything; this is our land, and we have the strength in numbers."

Seth nods. "Right. Okay. I can do this." He turns to me. "I'm going to leave you here with Leah. I'll try and figure this out quickly, but . . ." He looks at Leah. "Thanks, Le-le."

She hugs him tight. "Good luck."

* * *

**SPOV (Seth)**

My arms itch to hold Maybelle, but I just squeeze her hand gently before pushing past Leah, out the door. Her startling green eyes are stained into my eyelids; I shut my eyes, they're the only thing I can see—she's the only thing I can think about.

I keep turning it over and over and over again in my mind, and I can't make any sense of it. _I have an imprint. _

_I_—Seth Clearwater—_have an imprint._

Maybelle Swan.

_Maybelle Swan._

Gorgeous.

I launch into the dense green trees, transforming mid-air. My eyes immediately scan the forest, but I head in the direction of Rialto Beach.

_What took so long? _Sam's voice booms in my mind, and I wince.

_Sorry, boss. Had to explain what was up to Maybelle, and Leah had to explain what was up to me. _

_Well, hurry. _Sam sounds frustrated, which sends me flying faster through the trees.

_What's going on? _I ask.

_Cullen boy wants the go o.k. to look for his daughter, _Jared tells me.

_The daughter he abandoned_, Collin adds, dryly. I growl. _Sorry, man. But it's true. _

_Seth! _Sam growls. _Focus! Faster!_

_Boss, take a chill pill. I'm almost there._

_Seth_, Sam warns.

_Okay, okay. I'm here!_ I break through the trees into the small clearing right next to Rialto I'd seen in his mind. Sam barked at me from where he was sitting on his haunches, right in front of the vampire. Edward.

_Go back a few steps—Jared has some shorts for you. _I nod in assent and do as he says, changing and taking Jared's shorts from behind the cover of the trees. When I reappear in the clearing, Edward looks at me warily.

"Will someone tell me where my daughter is?" he asks, and actually looks worried.

"Is the other one here?" I ask, dodging the question.

His expression hardens. "Why?"

"Because I need to tell my pack not to kill her." My heart aches at the thought.

Any color in his face seems to drain; he sinks to his knees. "Please. Cassandra is here. By the border. With my two sons."

I look over at Sam. He nods, and barks to the wolves taking cover in the trees; I hear two or three of them take off, making sure nobody gets to them. The other vampire, Alice, sighs from her seat along the edge of the clearing. "He won't let anyone hurt them," she says. "I may not be able to see the wolves, Edward, but I know they'll be fine."

Edward looks miserable. "Please. I only just found out they existed. Don't take away my chance. Don't—"

My eyes widen. "Do you think we'd _hurt _her?" It seems preposterous. Ridiculous. Unfathomable. Hurt _her? _Never.

Edward's eyebrows pucker. "You do have my daughter, don't you?"

I rub my temples, looking down at my imprint's father.

Now it's his turn for his eyes to widen—but his don't just widen; they look about to fall out of their sockets. "Your _what?_"

"Um. Edward? I kind of imprinted on your daughter."

* * *

_**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!! I'LL UPDATE SOONER!!!**_


	22. TEMPORARY HIATUS FOR EDITS

**Alright. So, I've written this twice, and the document manager keeps on deleting it. Kind of annoying. I'm not writing a super long one this time, so maybe I won't throw the computer at the wall if it doesn't save this file. **

**Anyway, getting to business: I'm really sorry to say this, but LEAP OF FATE has been put on TEMPORARY HIATUS for edits. Hopefully it won't take too long, but I'm working on four stories at once right now (one of which is this one), and two of them I haven't even put on here yet, so it could take some time to get to this fic. Sorry, guys!**

**I recommend checking out some of my other stories, specifically REMEMBRANCE, which is a Twific with an imprint focus (After changing, Seth Clearwater imprinted on his best friend . . . but that was three years ago, and he still hasn't told her. What'll happen? Does she feel something for him, too? **THEY ARE STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL . . . remember, Seth first changed when he was 13) It's actually a pretty good one, and it's the one that I'm currently putting most of my efforts in, so hopefully a few people like it:/ Updates are frequent-about every week-and it's 18 K. The last chapter was over 6,000 words, and I'm sort of in love with Seth at this point. Haha:) **

**Also, for Harry P fans, definitely check out my Harry Potter/Twilight Crossovers, GONE and WORRY. Especially GONE, which I like better than WORRY, and will be definitely receiving more TLC and attention than WORRY will be, so you can expect updates on GONE.**

_**I'm coming out with a new story, just so you keep an eye out: **The title is **IN TIME OF DAFFODILS**, and it is about Edward and Alice Mason, living in Forks, WA after the death of their parents with their aunt and uncle, Carlisle and Esme Cullen. Edward went blind in the very accident that killed his parents, and is struggling to cope. But what happens when the Chief of Police's daughter, Bella, moves to Forks? Will Bella love Edward, even with his disability? [DUHHH!] That one should be really good. I'm writing the second chapter right now, and I honestly think it's coming along great. I'll be putting it up after I finish a few more chapters, so we don't have any issue with update delays. I have a link to the banner on my profile-check it out! :)_

**Once again, I'm really sorry about the hiatus, but lets cross our fingers and toes that I find the time to get work on the edits soon!**

**Leah**


	23. NOTICE!

**IN TIME OF DAFFODILS is up! Finally! Sorry for the long wait, but it's up! The next chapter should be going up soon, too. **

**SUMMARY: **_Alice's twin brother, Edward, has been blind for three years, because of a tragic accident that killed both of their parents, and almost killed him. Alice is happily with Jasper Hale, but Edward is alone—and deeply depressed. Is there someone out there for him? Edward/Bella._

**If you ask me, it's prettyyy good! :) Yes, it is a blind fic. Get over it. It's awesome. Go read it. (Profile - Stories - In Time of Daffodils). Trust me, it'll be worth it!**


	24. Not Again

**Okay. So, I'm really sorry I suck so bad.**

**Someone just reviewed my story "Deadly" and was like . . . "**Oooo. I'm intrigued. And then I notice this hasn't been updated since 2010. Oh , well. Still seems like a good plot to a story.**" And that just made me really depressed because, get this, some people actually like my stories, and I'm such a terrible person that I NEVER UPDATE. Ohmygosh, I'm terrible. Honest. Like . . . Did you know? It's 2011. And I started this story on June 20th, 2009. Oh my gosh, that is so crazy. And so incredibly weird to think that I've been writing for so long. Wow. I was . . . Oh, wow. I was TWELVE. Honest to god, I was TWELVE. Is that crazy, or what? **

**Anyway. I'm really hating myself right now. **

**I'm always getting writer's block, and, instead of working through it, I tend to just . . . stop. And start another story. And that just really, really, sucks. I'm not going to lie to you-I barely made a DENT in this story with edits. Which is super embarrassing. Because it's been months. So I'm promising you right now-I PROMISE-I will drop everything else. ALL of my other stories, even the one I just put up today ( D: READ IT. IT'S AWESOME: "Why Birds Fly South" ..GO), and start making edits. I swear. If I don't, ****feel free to FLAME, FLAME, FLAME. Alright? Sound like a plan? **

**The only thing is . . . I hate to say this . . . but I might be changing some of the things that happen in this story while making edits. I'm really, really sorry to those of you who have stuck with this story through it's monster-sized growth to 40,000+ words, but I'm a nit-picky editor, and when I re-edit stories, I tend to attack them full-force. Which means a lot of sizeable changes could occur. I really wish I didn't have to, but I started this story so long ago, and I've definitely changed a lot as a person and a writer, so . . . I'm so sorry! If enough people say that they want me to make two versions, I might just do that-continue with the present Leap of Fate, my baby, and then start another with all of the edits. **

**But that would mean a decent amount of people telling me that they want that to happen, so don't get your hopes up. 90-something people have put this story as a favorite, and 80-something have put this on alert, so if, say, 30 of those people can comment and say: MAKE TWO VERSIONS, I'll do it. I promise. But I won't do it if I don't think anyone will read it. **

**Thanks, guys. I LOVE MY READERS(: YOU MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND. **

**All my love,**

**Leah**


	25. BACK IN BUSINESS!

**Okay. If you hate these as much as I do, I'm really sorry. Deal with it.**

**I WILL NOT BE MAKING ANY SIZEABLE CHANGES (FOR NOW). **

**Reasons for coming to this conclusion:**

**1) I have decided that the greatest cure for writers' block is going back and reading the 200+ reviews that you have for the story. Aside from the five really mean ones, you'll gain your confidence back-not just in you, but in your story.**

**2) This story is a BEAST. And I mean BEAST. 40,000+ words is pretty intimidating in a word document. Not gonna lie, I don't really know how to understand that I've ever written that much. Wow. Anyway, since this story is such a beast, if I honestly re-edit everything, it could take months. And thats also assuming that I'd be able to put down my other stories for that long. Which is crazy to event THINK about. So basically, this story's a BEAST.**

**3) I really, really love you guys, and I hate that I've let you down. It's been years-honestly, it has-and some of you stuck with me-and my baby-for that long. Although I highly doubt any of you are still around, but, you know, it's worth a shot. But, back to the point, I really want to give you all-and this story-a shot. **

**4) I kind of just want to write, not edit. I'd love to see where my characters take me, just like you want to see where I can take you.**

**. . . and many more. But those are the main ones. **

**So I'll be power writing tonight, and I promise I will have the next chapter up by midnight tomorrow. Okay? Hopefully someone still reads this story. Otherwise, that would suck really, really badly for me. **

**Love,**

**Leah**


	26. Chapter 21

**Power writing = success. It's been thirty minutes. Boy am I good. Enjoy! (I'll probably have another one up by midnight.) You all better be really, really grateful! (: Just kidding. I owed you.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**SPOV**

"You _what_?" he snarls, standing up and coming towards me at full speed.

"I didn't mean to! You know we can't control this! And it's—"

Edward's hands clasp firmly on my shoulders. "_I don't care. _She's my daughter, and I just got her. You can't—"

I tear out from under his hold, snarling. I see the little vampire, Alice, leave the clearing from the corner of my eye. "She's not something you bought at the store, bloodsucker! She's a person—a real _person_—and she's _my _imprint, whether you like it or not! You think you can dictate what she does, who she _chooses? _How do you know she'll even want to be _associated _with you at this point? How—?"

"I GET YOUR POINT!" he explodes and the sudden shout startles me from my furious tremors. "Okay, Seth? I get your point. You think I don't _know _that? Why do you think I'm trying so hard? And by you being here, you're just going to make this harder! I want my daughter to like me! I want that, more than you know! But . . ." He takes a deep breath. "But she might not. And—"

"She doesn't know," I say, quietly at first, and then repeat myself. "She doesn't know. I haven't told her anything. I think Leah slipped before, and said she was my imprint in front of her, but she doesn't know what it is. I—" I let out a breath, and pinch the bridge of my nose between my forefinger and thumb. I can't believe I'm doing this. "I'll let you talk to her first. Before I do. I'll let you have your chance, Cullen. But you better not find a way to cheat me out of this; I'm being a good guy here." I study his relieved expression. "I've been waiting fifteen years, too."

He wrinkles his nose. "How old does that make you?"

"Thirty years old, buddy. You?"

"Point taken. You look seventeen. How is that?"

"Shift enough, you stop aging. I stopped when I was—like you said—seventeen."

"Well then."

"Yup."

He gives me a disbelieving look. "You'll really let me speak to her first?"

I nod. "So long as you're close enough to me so you can't run away with her, I'm fine with it." _Not really. _"I'll give you one chance." _But I don't want to. _"One chance, and that's all. You talk to her and she flips, starts crying, screaming, anything, you're done and I'm getting her."

Edward nods, too. "Okay. Okay, I can do that."

I send him a hard look. "You had better be able to. Stay here. I have to go talk to Sam."

And then I'm tearing through the trees again, not looking back, phasing the second I get further in. Sam's waiting for me in the woods behind his and Emily's house. I can hear the girls inside, moving around and making noises.

_It's really scary, Seth_, Sam says to me, looking in the direction of his house.

_What is?_

_How old she is. _I groan. _No, no. I'm not going to give you the fatherly talk, Seth. But it's true—she's phasing already. And she can _do _it. She can do it well. She's like Jake; learning real quick. Even faster than him. And she knew beforehand, which makes it so much easier. But I kind of wish it were more tough, you know? So we'd have her longer. Pretty soon, she'll be looking for her imprint—_he cuts off, and turns to look at me—_just like you._

_Sam, I've been looking for fifteen years. I think I deserve this._

_You do, Seth. You do, which is why I'm telling you not to let the bloodsucker get your girl._

_What do you mean? _

_Seth, don't give her up to him. You only have one imprint, Seth, one soul mate, and that's it. You mess it up, and you're done. _

I give him a look. _You think I don't know that, Sam? But if I want to be on her dad's good side at all, I've got to give him a chance. Wouldn't you want a chance, if Maybelle were Lizzie?_

Sam lets out a breath through his nose. He can't argue with that.

_I know it might be hard to understand, Sam, but I'm doing this for her, too. If I were her, I'd want that chance with my dad. _

He nods. _So when are you going to bring her to meet him? And where?_

I shuffle my feet. _I was hoping you'd have an idea of when and where, cause I'm not so sure. _

_Well . . ._Sam pauses, and takes a step further into the woods. _On our land, for sure. I wouldn't let Maybelle off our land—we can't protect her over there, if it comes to that. But—_he looks up at the dark gray clouds—_it looks to me like it's going to rain, and I wouldn't want her out here in this. So why not your house?_

_My house? _Was he serious?

_Yes, Seth, your house. Your turf. You can control what goes on from there. _

I sigh. _Yeah. I guess. But we still have the problem of when. _

_Now, Seth. Get it over with. You don't want to stress Maybelle out—she already knows something's up. _

I nod. _Right. Okay. Oh, and Sam? I don't want to repeat myself, but could you _please_ make sure no one touches any of the other ones—her siblings, I mean? _He nods._ Okay, I'll go—_

_Be careful, _Sam cuts me off. _I don't want to see you getting hurt. _

I nod again, and then I'm off, darting straight for the clearing and phasing, taking my shorts from my ankle and pulling them back on. I head into the clearing, where Edward is waiting—and, this time, it's not just him, but the other bloodsucker, and the girl I'd seen in Jared's mind from the beach; Maybelle's sister, Cassandra.

Edward looks nervous. "Seth, this is my other daughter, Cassie. Cassie, this is Seth."

The girl who looks pretty similar to Maybelle gives me some sort of half-wave, sitting down on a large rock. "Where's Maybelle?"

I sigh. "She's fine," I say, instead of answering her question. I turn to Edward. "I'm going to take Maybelle back to my house. And then I'm going to have another one of my pack members come and take you, so you guys can talk. And then it's my turn."

Edward nods. "Thank you."

I sigh, and rub my eyes. "Yeah, sure. Just promise me something."

"Anything."

"You won't hurt her?"

"Of course not! I would—"

"I don't mean physically, bloodsucker." I give him a long look.

He swallows. "I'll try."

I nod. "That's all I'm asking."

I turn and run back into the forest, whipping of my shorts as I reach the cover of the trees, and phase almost immediately, darting to Emily and Sam's. Sensing Kayvon, I reach out with my mind and quickly describe to him mine and Edward's agreement. _When I give you the o.k.,_ I conclude,_ bring him to my place, all right?_

_Yeah, Seth. I'll keep an eye on him while you go grab Maybelle. _

I shift back then, and slip my shorts back on, before running up the porch stairs and banging on the door. Leah opens it right away, looking worried. "How did it go?" she asks hesitantly, ushering me inside.

I sigh, and run my fingers through my hair. "I'm letting him see her," I say, walking down the hall to the kitchen, where I can hear Maybelle and Makenna chatting with Lizzie.

Leah grabs my arm. "_What?_"

"I'm letting him see her," I repeat.

"Are you _crazy?_"

I glare at her. "I'm sorry it seems so weird that I actually want my imprint to be happy."

Leah's eyes bug out. "Hey! That's not fair! You know that I want that for Kyle! But I also want that for myself! So I'm _sorry _that I'm not as self-sacrificing as you are!"

"What the hell are you _talking _about?" I exclaim. "I'm not _self-sacrificing! _I'm doing what I think is right for the girl I love!" I can hear that everyone I in the kitchen has gone silent, but I can't seem to stop. Even though I know that that girl, the girl I love, is listening to every word I say. "I'm doing what I think will make her happy! And I don't give a _shit _about your opinion!"

I close my eyes, trying to stop the tremors running up my arms before walking the rest of the way down the hall and into the kitchen. All three eyes immediately fall to mine. Maybelle is confused, I can see that—but she has a sort of pleased look in her eyes, along with a guilty one. I try my hardest not to look in Makenna and Lizzie's direction.

"We need to leave," I tell her.

Maybelle's eyebrows furrow, but she nods, walking toward me. She puts a light hand on my wrist, and her hand sets my skin on fire. She must feel it too, the electricity in the air between us, because her eyes widen. But, to my surprise—and pleasure—she doesn't pull away. Instead, she moves her hand from my arm, and grasps my hand tightly, lacing her fingers through mine. And I see the confusion in her eyes—about her and me, and what I said, and what Quil and Leah said, too—and I want nothing more than to make it go away. But I can't; first, I have to take her to her father.

I quickly lead her from the kitchen and to the front door, where we left her boots—the black ones from my house. She lets go of my hand, puts them on, and then walks back to my side, once again taking my hand in her own. The sight of her in my clothes makes my heart clench. She's _mine._ And even Edward can't take that fact away. 

The drive back to my house is quiet, no sounds but the rain pouring on the roof of my car. But it's not an uncomfortable silence, in spite of the many things that have gone unsaid between us. When we pull up at my house, I quickly usher Maybelle inside. Kyle is sitting at the kitchen counter with a bottle of Stella, and I can hear banging coming from upstairs—from the direction of Leah's room.

"She didn't come home, huh?" I say.

Kyle looks depressed. "No. She's upstairs." His expression changes to one of regret. "I'm really sorry about how she reacted about—" he sends a look in Maybelle's direction, where she's sitting in the living room. "I think that all of this is just a lot of pressure right now for her. Especially with me and her fighting so much." He sighs. "I also just think she's worried about you getting hurt. She doesn't want you to regret your decision."

I square my jaw. "I won't." I look outside, through the window above the sink. "He'll be waiting for me. Could you stay here with Maybelle while I go give the o.k. to Kayvon to bring Edward?"

Kyle nods, and takes a swig of his beer. "'Of course."

I give him a look. "And no more of those."

He salutes me with a tilt of his bottle. "Good luck."

I turn to the living room, where Maybelle is sitting. She looks up at me. "I'm going to go get your dad, okay? Kyle's going to stay here with you." She nods, but looks nervous. I start to turn to the door, but something compels me to pull her off the couch and into my arms. She exhales heavily, and I know she feels the same way I do—every time we touch is like a breath of fresh air, and all of my anxiety leaves my mind. I pull back to kiss her forehead. "Everything's going to turn out okay. I promise," I tell her.

She opens her eyes, and I can see that they're clouded with tears. "How do you know that? How can you tell me that? I don't understand what's going on. I don't _know _you."

I give her a crooked smile, putting as much warmth and encouragement in it as I can. "You have me now. And I never break promises."

Maybelle looks at me with those startling green eyes, bottomless with their sadness and longing. She touches her fingertips to my cheek, and I slowly turn my head, so that I'm kissing her palm. Maybelle's eyes close, and, for a moment, I hold her hand to my face, before wrapping my arms around her one more time, and then leaving the house, trying to push away the gut-wrenching pain I feel at walking away.

* * *

**I know, I know. Cliffie. I suck. But I figured a decently-lengthed chapter with a cliffie and a promise to update within the next 24 hours is a LOT better than no update at all. You better be glad that I'm a pro at power-writing, and won't complain about staying up until 2 in the morning to get it done. **

**Hope you enjoyed, hope it isn't too awful! **

**Love you all! PLEASE REVIEW. They fuel my fire.**


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